Enabling Guardian Angels: Designing and Constructing a Wireless Nurse CallSystem with IMU-Based Fall Detection for Enhanced Patient Safety

Abstract

Falling poses a significant health concern across all age groups, with particular severityamong the elderly. Hospitalized patients, in particular, are vulnerable to injuries andevendeath due to falls. While patient supervision is essential for fall prevention, constant proximitybetween patients and healthcare staff is not always feasible. To tackle this challenge, thisstudy aimed to develop a solution that enables immediate assistance for patients who aredistant from the nurse call button when a fall occurs.The study employed the IMU sensor,which combines an accelerometer and a gyroscope. This sensor served as a transmitter todetect gravity acceleration and magnitude when afall event takes place. Thedata obtainedfrom the IMU sensor were further processed using an Arduino Uno microcontroller. Thesensor was integrated into a belt worn around the waist of the participants, who performedvarious movements such as falling facing down, falling up, falling to the right, falling to theleft, standing then sitting, and sitting then standing.The experimental tests yielded compellingresults, with all trials achieving an accuracy rate of 81.7%. The accuracy was determined byanalyzing the confusion matrix, which enabled accurate calculations.The utilization of thisinnovative tool significantly reduces the risk of patients experiencing detrimental outcomesfollowing falls by promptly notifying medical personnel, even when they aredistant from thenurse call button. Moreover, the implementation of this tool enhances overall safety forhospitalized patients, especially those at a high risk of falling. Future research can explore theintegration of additional sensors or the development of more sophisticated algorithms tofurther enhancethe accuracy and efficacy of this tool.