New fall-risk screening process more easily accessible to seniors

Trial being rolled out for assessment to be done by trained staff at active ageing centres

- Ariel Yu

Madam Tan Yok So, 78, has a history of falls and has developed a fear of falling, which has kept her from leaving home.

In 2016, the retiree slipped on a puddle of water at home and hit her head. About six years later, she fell backwards on a bus and again hit her head, causing her to stop riding buses altogether.

Help, however, is on the way for seniors like her.

Researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School and Swiss public university ETH Zurich have developed a fall-risk screening process that is more accessible for older adults because they can be assessed by trained staff at active ageing centres (AACs) in the community, without having to step into a clinic.

The research team has come up with a new algorithm which evaluates seniors' risk of falling by analysing physical mobility data from wearable sensors and psychosocial factors.

Seniors in the trial will undergo the new screening process to monitor changes in their gait patterns and overall fall risk.

The process can be conducted by trained staff and volunteers in the centres across Singapore, unlike other screening tools which require a clinician and can be costly.

Participants start by taking a five-minute walk test, where they wear six sensors - one on their waist, one on each arm and foot, and one on their forehead - developed by ETH Zurich, to collect data such as step length, stride length and gait.

"These data can show how steady someone's walking is and whether they put more weight on one leg, indicating potential weakness in the other leg," said Dr Navrag Singh, senior scientist and lead principal investigator of the programme.

The participants then complete a questionnaire, where they are asked their age, level of physical activity, history of falls and whether they have a fear of falling.

The data from the questionnaire and wearable sensors is then fed into an algorithm to calculate a fall risk score for each individual senior.