Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 20, 2025
07:51
Video Movement Analysis Using Smartphones ViMAS: A Pilot Study
Published on: March 14, 2017
16.9K
The Reliability and Accuracy of a Fall Risk Assessment Procedure Using Mobile Smartphone Sensors Compared with a
José-Francisco Pedrero-Sánchez1, Helios De-Rosario-Martínez1, Enrique Medina-Ripoll1
1Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Edificio 9C, Camino de Vera S/N, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 29, 2023
Summary
This study presents a fast, reliable smartphone fall risk assessment for older adults. Using smartphone sensors, it accurately classifies fall risk, offering a valuable clinical screening tool.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Digital Health
Background:
- Falls are a significant health issue for older adults, causing disability and death.
- Existing fall risk assessments can be time-consuming and complex.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a novel, rapid fall risk assessment using smartphone inertial sensors.
- To validate the accuracy and reliability of this smartphone-based method against the Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA).
Main Methods:
- Sixty-five participants over 55 performed a Timed Up and Go test using smartphone sensors.
- Balance and gait parameters were calculated and assessed for reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs).
- Smartphone data were classified into six fall risk levels using machine learning models, compared to PPA results.
Main Results:
- All assessed parameters demonstrated high reliability with ICCs around 0.9.
- The best performing model achieved a 100% success rate in classifying fall risk levels.
- The smartphone assessment accurately categorized fall risk, comparable to the PPA.
Conclusions:
- A simple, rapid smartphone protocol reliably assesses fall risk in older adults.
- This method provides accurate fall risk classification, serving as a useful clinical screening tool.
