If something can go wrong at exactly the wrong moment, it probably will. That is the gist of Murphy’s Law, and when a retirement community resident is most at risk for an incident such as a fall – at night, in the bathroom, in the shower – is when they are most likely to NOT be wearing their alerting pendant. Or they are out of reach of a pullcord. Or they are physically unable to signal for help.
“This is exactly when Artificial Intelligence [AI] can provide early detection of potential falls,” says Dr. Ashutosh Saxena, Founder and CEO of Caspar.AI. Dr. Saxena continues: “Human-centered technology from ambient sensors in the apartment home can be used to detect incidents such as falls without the use of pullcords or pendants. AI learns resident movements and knows when to signal a community manager for assistance.”
On her website, Florida Elder Lawyer Beth Prather points out the challenges that arise when residents fail to wear their alerting pendant. She goes on the mention that the monthly cost of a single-feature pendant can be expensive. Comments along the same line can be found at Caring.com: Because wearables are not always worn there can be gaps in protection for residents. Caring Senior Services points out that some devices must be removed to recharge and that some devices are uncomfortable for residents to wear during sleep.
