Fraunhofer Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions – AICOS
26.10.2018
AICOS was present in the ‘2nd Meeting FallSensing’, at October 19th and 20th, where the final results of the FallSensing project were presented. The event, which brings together national and international specialists in the field of Physical Therapy, also included a workshop on Fall Risk Assessment and Prevention, based on the applications developed within the scope of the project in which AICOS is a partner.
Falls are one of the most common health problems in the elderly population, representing more than 50% of the hospitalizations due to lesions in this age group. Falls are also considered one of the main causes for loss of independence and institutionalization. Launched in November 2015, the FallSensing is a technological based project, which developed a screening system and a set of solutions to prevent falls in the elderly population. This project allows health professionals, particularly the physiotherapists, to assume a determinant role in the achievement of real strategies oriented through fall risk predictor models, with a high level of precision.
The FallSensing technology will enable the evaluation of multiple fall risk factors and the implementation of real-time monitored exercise programs in adults – individual or groups – according to the level of risk and preferences of each user and with feedback system during the execution. This solution also allows to be adopted for different settings: clinics, nursing homes, municipalities and local health facilities.
On day one of the event, the consortium presented the achieved outcomes which are the result of all the work developed 2015 - 2018. The agenda for the day also included several discussion forums on different topics, anchored in three panels of invited national and international experts, namely: “Innovation and Health”, “FallSensing: integrative system, from risk screening to personalized intervention to Fall Prevention” and the “National Strategy on Active and Healthy Ageing 2017 - 2025 and Fractures and Falls Prevention: trends for the near future”. This closing event, counted with the presence of AICOS' director, Liliana Ferreira, who discussed in a roundtable about the importance of 'Innovation and Health'. In the end of the day, all the entities involved in the development of project were distinguished with a certification of “FallSensing Partners”.
Day two was dedicated to a workshop on Fall Risk Assessment and Prevention. The main objective was to present the technology and all the benefits to all the interested stakeholders, from health professionals to decision makers. AICOS researchers Inês Sousa, Joana Silva, Dinis Moreira and Elsa Oliveira were part of this workshop showing the benefits of the solution.
The FallSensing project is co-funded by Portugal 2020, framed under the COMPETE 2020 (Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) from European Union (EU) and results from a consortium between Sensing Future Technologies, Fraunhofer Portugal and Coimbra Health School.
