Citation

Arcelus A, Holtzman M, Goubran R, Sveistrup H, Guitard P, Knoefel F. Conf. Proc. IEEE Eng. Med. Biol. Soc. 2009; 1: 6155-6158.

Affiliation

Department of Systems and Computer Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers))

DOI

10.1109/IEMBS.2009.5334584

PMID

19965075

Abstract

The occurrence of falls inside the home is a common yet potentially hazardous issue for adults as they age. Even with the installation of physical aids such as grab bars, weight transfers on and off a toilet or bathtub can become increasingly difficult as a person's level of physical mobility and sense of balance deteriorate. Detecting this deterioration becomes an important goal in fall prevention within a smart home. This paper develops an unobtrusive method of analyzing the usage of toilet grab bars using pressure sensors embedded into the arm rests of a commode. Clinical parameters are successfully extracted automatically from a series of stand-to-sit (StSi) and sit-to-stand (SiSt) transfers performed by a trial group of young and older adults. A preliminary comparison of the parameters indicates differences between the two groups, and aligns well with published characteristics obtained using accelerometers worn on the body. The unobtrusive nature of this method provides a useful tool to be incorporated into a system of continuous monitoring of older adults within the smart home environment.

Language: en