MSD 18959 Fall Prevention

For this project, we are tasked with designing an 'early detection' system for fall risk patients getting out of bed in assisted living homes, including those who are elderly and those who are disabled that need help. We looked into a variety of different options, including AI cameras and limit switches, to using off the shelf options like motion sensors and bed pads. Our client explained that using motion sensors would result in too many false positives, such as blankets and pillows could trigger the sensor, where assistants would go check on someone when they don't actually need help. On the other hand, bed pads would result false negatives due to shifting on a bed and being so variable, where patients might need help getting out of bed and the staff does not know, increasing a chance of risk. Our solution implores a wrap-around-bed system that uses a binary signal to alert the staff when someone is exiting bed. As our system sits on the edge of the bed, as a patient moves to sit on the edge, their weight will push down on the system, completing the circuit that connects to the sensor, alerting the staff of the home. Our system gets strapped to any bed size, provides a large and adjustable area of a bed perimeter, and can be modified to fit on any bed orientation in a room, this provides a cost effective and effective way to alert the staff of an assisted living home. As a non-intrusive, easy to set up and take down, modular system, we expect that this technology will help reduce the amount of people that fall when trying to exit a bed in assisted living, and support the caretakers in helping provide a happy safe life for their patients.