Sensitivity and False Alarm Rate of a Fall Sensor in Long-Term Fall Detection in the Elderly

About a third of home-dwelling older people fall each year, and institutionalized older people even report a two- or threefold higher rate for falling. Automatic fall detection systems have been developed to support the independent and secure living of the elderly. Even though good fall detection sensitivity and specificity in laboratory settings have been reported, knowledge about the sensitivity and specificity of these systems in real-life conditions is still lacking.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term fall detection sensitivity and false alarm rate of a fall detection prototype in real-life use.