Development of a wearable surveillance system using gait analysis.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Gerontology
• Rehabilitation Technology

Background:

• Aging populations in developed countries increase demand for healthcare resources.
• Developing assistive technologies is crucial for managing elder and patient care needs.
• Wearable computers offer a potential solution for remote patient monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a wearable computer system for monitoring elderly or patient health.
• To detect variations in posture, falls, and gait disability using accelerometers.
• To establish a flexible and scalable system for patient-specific health data management.

Main Methods:

• Development of a wearable computer equipped with accelerometers.
• Implementation of a home-based designated database server for patient data.
• Validation of the system with healthy young volunteers, including those with induced impediments.
• Real-time automatic gait analysis using the Hampering Index.

Main Results:

• The system successfully detected variations in posture and falls.
• Real-time automatic gait analysis was achieved using the Hampering Index.
• The system demonstrated successful detection of mobility changes.

Conclusions:

• The developed wearable computer system shows promise for supporting elder and patient care.
• The system's ability to detect falls and analyze gait is valuable for monitoring health status.
• Further development can enhance the care of aging populations and individuals with disabilities.