Development and pilot study of a bed-exit alarm based on a body-worn accelerometer
Autor: | Klaus-Hendrik Wolf, Birgitt Wiese, K. Hetzer, H.M. zu Schwabedissen, Michael Marschollek |
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Rok vydání: | 2013 |
Předmět: |
Male
Health (social science) Acceleration Monitoring Ambulatory Poison control Pilot Projects law.invention ALARM Randomized controlled trial law Humans Medicine Requirements analysis Reliability (statistics) Aged Aged 80 and over business.industry Usability Equipment Design medicine.disease Actigraphy Equipment Failure Analysis Clinical trial Issues ethics and legal aspects Clinical Alarms Accidental Falls Female Medical emergency Geriatrics and Gerontology business Reduced cost Wireless Technology Gerontology |
Zdroj: | Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie. 46:727-733 |
ISSN: | 1435-1269 0948-6704 |
Popis: | Falls are a major problem in hospitals and nursing homes. The consequences of falls can be severe, both for the individual and for the caring institution. The aim of the work presented here is to reduce the number of falls on a geriatric ward by monitoring patients more closely. To achieve this goal, a bed-exit alarm that reliably detects an attempt to get up has been constructed. A requirements analysis revealed the nurses’ and physicians’ needs and preferences. Based on the gathered information, an incremental design process generated different prototypes. These were tested for the reliability of their ability to detect attempts to get up in both laboratory settings and with geriatric patients. Based on the result of these tests, a scalable technical solution has been developed and proven its reliability in a 1-year, randomized controlled pilot clinical trial on a geriatric ward. The developed system is unobtrusive and easy to deploy. It has been tested in laboratory settings, usability tests and a 1-year randomized clinical trial with 98 patients. This paper focuses on the technical development of the system. We present different prototypes, the experiments and the pilot study used to evaluate their performance. Last but not least, we discuss the lessons learned so far. The developed bed-exit alarm is able to reliably detect patients’ attempts to get up. The results of the clinical trial show that the system is able to reduce the number of falls on a geriatric ward. Next steps are the design of a specialized sensor node that is easier to use and can be applied on an even larger scale due to its reduced cost. A multicenter trial with a larger number of patients is required to confirm the results of this pilot study. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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