Fall Detection and Reporting Technology

• US 20120314901A1
• Filed: 04/04/2012
• Published: 12/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hanson, Mark Andrew, Martin, Jean-Paul, Barth, Adam T., Silverman, Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 8,675,920 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/103
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0077 Devices for viewing the surface of the body, e.g. camera, magnifying lens
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1117 Fall detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30196 Human being; Person
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/194 involving foreground-background segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/043 detecting an emergency event, e.g. a fall
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

Fall detection and reporting technology, in which output from at least one sensor configured to sense, in a room of a building, activity associated with a patient falling is monitored and a determination is made to capture one or more images of the room based on the monitoring. An image of the room is captured with a camera positioned to include the patient within a field of view of the camera and the captured image of the room is analyzed to detect a state of the patient at a time of capturing the image. A potential fall event for the patient is determined based on the detected state of the patient and a message indicating the potential fall event for the patient is sent based on the determination of the potential fall event for the patient. Techniques are also described for fall detection and reporting using an on-body sensing device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

monitoring output from at least one sensor configured to sense, in a room of a building, activity associated with a patient falling;

based on the monitoring of output from the at least one sensor, determining to capture one or more images of the room;

based on the determination to capture one or more images of the room, capturing, with a camera positioned to include the patient within a field of view of the camera, an image of the room;

analyzing the captured image of the room to detect a state of the patient at a time of capturing the image;

determining, based on the detected state of the patient, a potential fall event for the patient; and

based on the determination of the potential fall event for the patient, sending, by a communication device, a message indicating the potential fall event for the patient.

2. The method of claim 1:

wherein the at least one sensor configured to sense activity associated with the patient falling is an on-body sensor configured to detect an impact and determine a change in an orientation of the patient;

wherein monitoring output from the at least one sensor comprises;

receiving data indicating a detected change in an orientation of the patient and an amount of the orientation change,

receiving data indicating a detected impact and a severity of the detected impact,

determining, based on the received amount of orientation change and the received data indicating the severity of the impact of the patient, a threshold for inactivity of the patient, and

determining, based on output from the on-body sensor, that the patient has been inactive for a period of time greater than the determined threshold; and

wherein determining to capture one or more images of the room comprises determining to capture one or more images of the room based on the determination that the patient has been inactive for a period of time greater than the determined threshold.

3. The method of claim 1:

wherein the at least one sensor configured to sense activity associated with the patient falling is a button located in the room at a position that permits the patient to press the button after a fall; and

wherein monitoring output from the at least one sensor comprises determining that the button has been pressed.

4. The method of claim 1:

wherein the at least one sensor configured to sense activity associated with the patient falling is a sensor configured to determine a presence of the patient in the room; and

wherein monitoring output from the at least one sensor comprises;

receiving, from the sensor configured to determine the presence of the patient in the room, a signal indicating that the patient is present in the room, and

after a threshold period of time, determining that the patient has not left the room and that no further signals have been received from the sensor configured to determine the presence of the patient in the room; and

wherein determining to capture one or more images of the room comprises determining to capture one or more images of the room based on determining that the patient has not left the room and that no further signals have been received from the sensor configured to determine the presence of the patient in the room.

5. The method of claim 1:

wherein analyzing the captured image of the room to detect a state of the patient at a time of capturing the image comprises;

performing image foreground segmentation on the captured image to create a segmented image,

performing template matching on the segmented image to identify a human shape in the segmented image, and

calculating a position and an orientation associated with the identified human shape in the segmented image, and

wherein determining the potential fall event for the patient comprises determining a potential fall event for the patient based on the calculated position and the calculated orientation.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining the potential fall event for the patient based on the calculated position and the calculated orientation comprises:

monitoring successive image and sensor data after calculating the position and the orientation;

comparing the successive image and sensor data with prior image and sensor data;

determining an activity level of the patient based on the comparison of the successive image and sensor data with the prior image and sensor data;

classifying the potential fall event based on the determined activity level of the patient; and

handling reporting for the potential fall event based on the classification of the potential fall event.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing the monitored output from the at least one sensor over a period of time to determine activities of the patient over the period of time;

accessing information indicative of expected activities of the patient over the period of time;

comparing the determined activities of the patient over the period of time to the expected activities of the patient over the period of time; and

based on the comparison revealing that the determined activities of the patient over the period of time do not match the expected activities of the patient over the period of time, determining a level of fall risk associated with the patient.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining that the level of fall risk associated with the patient exceeds a threshold; and

based on the determination that the level of fall risk associated with the patient exceeds the threshold, sending a message to a monitoring server that is located remotely from the building.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining that the level of fall risk associated with the patient exceeds a threshold; and

based on the determination that the level of fall risk associated with the patient exceeds the threshold, automatically performing one or more operations to reduce the level of fall risk associated with the patient.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the message indicating the potential fall event for the patient comprises sending, to the patient, the message indicating the potential fall event and providing the patient with an opportunity to cancel the potential fall event.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining that the patient has not cancelled the potential fall event within a threshold period of time; and

based on determining that the patient has not cancelled the potential fall event within the threshold period of time, sending a message to a monitoring server indicating the potential fall event.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving, from the patient, an indication to cancel the potential fall event; and

based on receiving the indication to cancel the potential fall event, determining an overall activity of the patient between detecting the potential fall event and receiving the indication to cancel the potential fall event.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining that the overall activity of the patient is above a threshold of activity; and

based on determining that the overall activity of the patient is above the threshold of activity, signaling that the potential fall event was detection of a false fall.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining that the overall activity of the patient is below a threshold of activity; and

based on determining that the overall activity of the patient is below the threshold of activity, determining an orientation of the patient.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining that the determined orientation of the patient is upright; and

based on determining that the determined orientation of the patient is upright, signaling that the potential fall event was detection of a minor fall.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining that the determined orientation of the patient is not upright; and

based on determining that the determined orientation of the patient is not upright, sending another message to the patient that provides the patient with another opportunity to cancel the potential fall event.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining that the patient has not cancelled the potential fall event within a threshold period of time after sending another message to the patient that provides the patient with another opportunity to cancel the potential fall event; and

based on determining that the patient has not cancelled the potential fall event within the threshold period of time after sending another message to the patient that provides the patient with another opportunity to cancel the potential fall event, sending a message to a monitoring server indicating the potential fall event.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

after sending another message to the patient that provides the patient with another opportunity to cancel the potential fall event, receiving, from the patient, an indication to cancel the potential fall event; and

based on receiving the indication to cancel the potential fall event, signaling that the potential fall event was a cancelled fall event.

19. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising;

monitoring output from at least one sensor configured to sense, in a room of a building, activity associated with a patient falling;

based on the monitoring of output from the at least one sensor, determining to capture one or more images of the room;

based on the determination to capture one or more images of the room, capturing, with a camera positioned to include the patient within a field of view of the camera, an image of the room;

analyzing the captured image of the room to detect a state of the patient at a time of capturing the image;

determining, based on the detected state of the patient, a potential fall event for the patient; and

based on the determination of the potential fall event for the patient, sending, by a communication device, a message indicating the potential fall event for the patient.

20. At least one computer-readable storage medium encoded with executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

monitoring output from at least one sensor configured to sense, in a room of a building, activity associated with a patient falling;

based on the monitoring of output from the at least one sensor, determining to capture one or more images of the room;

based on the determination to capture one or more images of the room, capturing, with a camera positioned to include the patient within a field of view of the camera, an image of the room;

analyzing the captured image of the room to detect a state of the patient at a time of capturing the image;

determining, based on the detected state of the patient, a potential fall event for the patient; and

based on the determination of the potential fall event for the patient, sending, by a communication device, a message indicating the potential fall event for the patient.