Development of a Fall Risk Assessment Smartphone Application

• Main Authors: Thirumalaya, Balaraman, Mohamodhossen, Maysoon Hanaa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: INTI International University 2018
• Subjects: R Medicine (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.intimal.edu.my/1138/1/v1_2018_6.pdf; http://eprints.intimal.edu.my/1138/
• Institution: INTI International University

Background & Objective: Falls are major cause of injury among older adults. This study was aimed to develop a smartphone application that can be used to assess the fall risk among the elderly population. Methodology: An Android application was developed with three main built-in sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, force of gravity) that measure motion, orientation and body position. Results: Four tests namely Timed Up and Go test (TUG), 30 second Chair Stand Test (30s CST), 4 Stage Balance Test (4SBT), and gait speed were added along with body sway to test the fall risk in the smartphone application. The fall risk score in the application will be calculated from the body sway and need to be added according to TUG and number of standing scores. Conclusion: A smartphone application to detect the fall risk was developed. The next stage of the project involves pilot testing the newly developed smartphone application.