HIHI launches new case study with Eila Connect a tech solution which supports independent living for older adults
This November Health Innovation Hub Ireland spotlights our latest clinical evaluation study with Eila Connect developed by Crothers Security Ltd. It’s a technology enabled care product which supports independent living for older and vulnerable people who live alone. Falling is the most common cause of injuries in the home for older adults, with approximately 30% of those over 60 falling each year.
Eila Connect provides a solution to the issue. It’s a monitoring unit which uses technology to help relatives and carers get a picture of the ongoing well-being of the person. Using motion detectors, it builds a “Day Story” of a person’s activity. This story is available as a visual graphic on an app and gives a full picture of a person’s movement and activity and alert systems are also built in.
Consequences of falls include injuries, fractures, problems with mobility, depression, loss of independence, and a substantial economic burden on health care systems. One in eight older adults who fall report lying on the floor for more than an hour. These ‘long-lies’ have a devastating effect on the older adult’s health. Older adults often have declines in mobility and reduced activities of daily following a fall and long-lie. A sudden reduction in mobility leads to a decreased physical, psychological, and social state with an accompanying drop in self-esteem.
Personal falls alarms such as pendant alarms are commonplace in Ireland, however they rely on the user to wear the device and to physically press a button when a fall occurs. This method has several disadvantages including, but not limited to (i) unable to notify of a fall if not wearing, (ii) requires the person to be conscious and cognitively intact following a fall (iii) does not work outside of the house.
Current research reports use of personal alarms such as pendant alarms is infrequent among older adults, suggesting a need for exploration of newer technologies to address these disadvantages. Previous research suggests the development and implementation of innovative technology for automatic fall detection to address the failures of personal alarms (Blackburn et al., 2021).
HIHI worked with the team at Elia connect and facilitated three separate evaluation sessions with five clinical experts working with older adults and several benefits were noted throughout the sessions. Each of the clinicians noted that the technology was excellent and that Eila Connect provided a great service. The use of sensors to detect falls instead of using cameras gives the patients their independence while providing peace of mind to worried family members. The customisable nature of the service by adapting the parameters to the patient’s routine and letting the patient receive the same notifications as the family is ‘empowering’. In comparison to the other known competitors, such as pendant alarms, it offers several advantages and addresses a lot of the barriers.
Eila Connect presents several significant advantages over current falls detection systems. It’s ability to detect falls at home without wearing a pendant could prevents a huge number of long lie associated injuries which in turn could reduce hospital admissions and costs due to same.
Martin Crothers, CEO of Elia Connect highlighted the value of working with HIHI. “From the very beginning I found HIHI very easy to deal with, from the online application to our first direct communication, everything was clear and easy to understand. HIHI began to work quickly to pull together a consultation process with clinical experts who were knowledgeable in the requirements of Elder Care. The result of our interaction with HIHI was very positive and the insights from our consultations were really useful. In addition, we got to meet people who work with the cohort we are aiming to provide Eila Connect to and educate them on how this technology can help their patients. I would recommend that anyone who has innovative solutions for the healthcare sector to reach out to HIHI and see what they can do for you”.
Read the full case study here https://hih.ie/downloads/case-studies/HIHI-case-study_Eila-Connect.pdf