STEADY · STEADY, an ICT based holistic concept for fall prevention and management among the elderly community

Today, there is a rising proportion of elderly people worldwide and a trend to an increase of old age dependency ratio. The major cause of dependency within this community is recognized to be the fall accident. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 28-35% of people aged of 65 and above fall each year, increasing to 32-42% for those over 70 years of age leading to an explosion of social and healthcare expenditures.In this context, innovation in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) field along with new forms of service delivery organization such as home care services represents a viable solution for a better management of the ageing process. Holistic and smart approaches including a health network system to early diagnose movement disability and give early appropriate feedback in terms of rehabilitation strategies minimizing and retarding the ageing effects are more effective than others for individuals, families, and care givers.Thus the proposed innovating STEADY service composed of an interoperable ICT infrastructure addresses current limitations of fall management systems and services to meet the need for delivery of support to older people who might be or are at risk of falling. STEADY will therefore integrate an infrastructure for the implementation of a comprehensive fall management service by means of innovative usage of available technologies (tele-monitoring, e-care management, rehabilitation assistance by predictive control and image-based visual servoing) and targeted both on preventative and reactive aspects promoting safety and independent living support. The determinants of healthy ageing, the component of fall risks and the best strategies of rehabilitation will be the basis of the project implementation.