A pervasive solution for risk awareness in the context of fall prevention

In the present work, we introduce Fallarm, a pervasive fall prevention solution suitable for hospitals and care facilities, as well as for home settings. We applied a multifaceted intervention strategy based on closed-loop information exchange between proactive and reactive methods: comprehensive assessment protocols determine the individuals´ risk of falling; an innovative device continuously monitors subjects´ activities, and it provides patients with constant feedback about their actual risk. Thus, it increases their awareness; simultaneously, it realizes measures to prevent adverse events, and it reports any incident and aims to reduce the level of injury. As a result, our solution offers a comprehensive strategy for the remote management of a person´s risk of falling 24 hours a day, enabling many vulnerable people to remain living independently. In this paper, we detail the architecture of our system, and we discuss the results of an experimental study we conducted to demonstrate the applicability of Fallarm in both clinical and home settings.