For years, seniors and their families have turned to devices like Life Alert for reassurance in the face of debilitating falls. However, there's now an even more advanced solution in the form of "smart shoes" that can preemptively detect the possibility of a fall before it occurs.
From The Sun:
The technology is being trialled in three test houses by biomechanists at Liverpool John Moores University.
They hope to test it further in people’s real homes.
The smart shoes focus on two crucial measurements — the distance from the toe to the edge of the step, and the area of foot planted safely on the top of the step.
Costis Maganaris, professor of musculoskeletal biomechanics in the uni’s School of Exercise and Sport Science, told journal Sensors: “The endgame is a product which would be able to judge an individual’s risk factor and warn them.
"The 'smart shoe' can provide us with very similar data to that using motion-capture in the gait lab.
"But it can also give us the capacity to remotely harvest data which can advance a prototype measuring tool to predict stair falls.
“Generally, we can avoid falls on the flat by improving strength and balance.
"Stairs are a different beast.”
