Enhancing Fall Prevention with Novel Technologies for Health Aging: Co-Creation of ReBalancer V2

AI Quick Summary

Falls are a major topic in healthy aging, with a quarter-million falls registered annually in Switzerland alone. These falls are unequally distributed across age groups, being overrepresented in the elderly. A single fall can Statistically, one in four people aged over 65 will fall at least once per year, costing the Swiss healthcare system roughly 1.6 billion Franks annually (BFU report 2022). With an increasingly aged and sedentary population prognosticated over the next decades, this problem will further gain in relevance.Research in the field of fall prevention has identified a potent intervention that reduces fall risk by 50-70%. The intervention - Perturbation-based Training (PBT) - entails mechanically perturbing participants while they are walking. This effectively is thought to reset the nervous system and train adequate neuromuscular reactions that lead to reduced fall risk. The training however has yet to experience widespread application in society, as it is hampered by two constraints: a) The perturbation equipment is prohibitively expensive, making the development of scalable business models challenging. b) Current training regiments entail multiple visits to specialised centres, which limits practicality. In a previous research project, ReBalancer, we addressed both of these aspects by introducing a lightweight and cost-effective cable robot which can provide adequate perturbations on any treadmill. We developed a fall-prevention regiment that is a one-shot preventive measure, entailing only a single visit to an appropriate facility. Based on the positive results, we deployed a single perturbation unit into a community setting at SturzZentrum Schweiz (https://www.sturzzentrum.ch) which has now been sucessfully tested (and enjoyed!) by over 100 participants.Based on user feedback to further improve the training experience, we here aim to develop ReBalancerV2, an extended and enhanced version of the perturbation unit. This unit will be easier to deploy, more robust, and will provide perturbations both to the left and right to enhance the training effect. We also will develop a feedback module that allows participants to see their changes in performance after a single session. Both of these developments need to be done in a co-creation process with end-users to ensure a continued product-market fit and sufficient usability/interpretability. With these enhancements, we believe that ReBalancer can become a scalable and effective fall prevention intervention. Specific Project Content:Establish a co-creation panel of end-users and PBT therapistsTechnical refinement of the perturbation unit to enhance usability and safety (Co-creation with PBT therapists)Development of multidirectional perturbations using a second PBT unit (Co-creation with end-users)Development of a digital evaluation of perturbation response performance using sensors or computer vision (Co-creation with PBT therapists and end-users)Design of an user-centered design evaluation protocol to assess user acceptance and biomechanical responsesEvaluation of the novel technology components in 20 elderly volunteersCreate final reportThroughout the project, we will discuss and continuously evaluate potential business models and refine pricing and scaling strategies with our users.

Project Idea Metadata

• Project Idea Name: Enhancing Fall Prevention with Novel Technologies for Health Aging: Co-Creation of ReBalancer V2
• Date: 12/29/2024 11:14:54 AM
• Administrators:

Project Idea Description

Falls are a major topic in healthy aging, with a quarter-million falls registered annually in Switzerland alone. These falls are unequally distributed across age groups, being overrepresented in the elderly. A single fall can Statistically, one in four people aged over 65 will fall at least once per year, costing the Swiss healthcare system roughly 1.6 billion Franks annually (BFU report 2022). With an increasingly aged and sedentary population prognosticated over the next decades, this problem will further gain in relevance.

Research in the field of fall prevention has identified a potent intervention that reduces fall risk by 50-70%. The intervention - Perturbation-based Training (PBT) - entails mechanically perturbing participants while they are walking. This effectively is thought to reset the nervous system and train adequate neuromuscular reactions that lead to reduced fall risk. The training however has yet to experience widespread application in society, as it is hampered by two constraints: a) The perturbation equipment is prohibitively expensive, making the development of scalable business models challenging. b) Current training regiments entail multiple visits to specialised centres, which limits practicality.

In a previous research project, ReBalancer, we addressed both of these aspects by introducing a lightweight and cost-effective cable robot which can provide adequate perturbations on any treadmill. We developed a fall-prevention regiment that is a one-shot preventive measure, entailing only a single visit to an appropriate facility. Based on the positive results, we deployed a single perturbation unit into a community setting at SturzZentrum Schweiz (https://www.sturzzentrum.ch) which has now been sucessfully tested (and enjoyed!) by over 100 participants.

Based on user feedback to further improve the training experience, we here aim to develop ReBalancerV2, an extended and enhanced version of the perturbation unit. This unit will be easier to deploy, more robust, and will provide perturbations both to the left and right to enhance the training effect. We also will develop a feedback module that allows participants to see their changes in performance after a single session. Both of these developments need to be done in a co-creation process with end-users to ensure a continued product-market fit and sufficient usability/interpretability. With these enhancements, we believe that ReBalancer can become a scalable and effective fall prevention intervention.

Specific Project Content:

1. Establish a co-creation panel of end-users and PBT therapists
2. Technical refinement of the perturbation unit to enhance usability and safety (Co-creation with PBT therapists)
3. Development of multidirectional perturbations using a second PBT unit (Co-creation with end-users)
4. Development of a digital evaluation of perturbation response performance using sensors or computer vision (Co-creation with PBT therapists and end-users)
5. Design of an user-centered design evaluation protocol to assess user acceptance and biomechanical responses
6. Evaluation of the novel technology components in 20 elderly volunteers
7. Create final report

Throughout the project, we will discuss and continuously evaluate potential business models and refine pricing and scaling strategies with our users.