HOW do you provide immediate medical aid when an elderly person falls and hurts himself - without you knowing?
That's a major question facing caretakers in hospitals and hospices around the world.
Indeed, reliable detection of falls is crucial for prompt administration of medical aid for victims.
A new technology that recognises human actions on live video footage could be a good solution.
It's better than current methods for fall detection, which includes the use of portable devices with embedded accelerometers that measure tilt.
These devices can only work well if they are worn conscientiously by the patient.
Researchers from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) are one of the many teams in the world working now to develop a new method of fall detection using video processing.
Their solution makes use of advanced computing algorithms to decipher human motion from live video footage of the room.
'One of the weaknesses of the portable devices on the market is that patients do not like wearing them, or when they remove it, they forget to put it back on,' said Dr Panachit Kittipanya-Ngam, Research Fellow in A*Star's Institute for Infocomm Research.
'Non-intrusive camera-based methods are therefore more desirable.'
The technology, which is still under development, is achieving accuracy rates of up to 90 per cent for simulated falls performed by volunteers.
However, this may not be fully indicative of real-life situations.
'Real falling and simulated falling are different. In the simulated case, the subject will protect his head during the drop,' explained Dr Kittipanya-Ngam.
Proposal for HDB trial
The researchers have submitted proposals to Alexandra Hospital and Housing Development Board for trials on real subjects such as elderly people living alone in one-room HDB flats.
If the system rolls out for commercial use, it would be the first in the world to successfully make use of video processing technology to detect falls.
The researchers are extending the technology to help physiotherapists study the quality of movement of patients under therapy.
This technology was showcased at the A*Star booth in the inaugural Siggraph Asia 2008, which took place last month at Suntec City Convention Centre.
This story was first published in The New Paper on Jan 1, 2009.
