2010 Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 31-35
Falls from the bed are one of the most common adverse events faced by elderly people in hospitals and nursing homes. We observed the activities of elderly people in their hospital bed at night. For four months starting in May 2006 a small infrared camera and an infrared projector were installed over the hospital beds of five patients who had high risks of falls. The camera operated daily from 9:00 PM to 8:00 AM, and the video data were recorded. Additionally an infrared motion sensor and a side-rail touch sensor were installed as well. The patients were in their seventies (three people), eighties (one person), and nineties (one person). Video data of 23 nights were captured.
Analyzing this data it was found that in total the patients rose 299 times, 128 of which were up to sitting positions, and 5 basic patterns were recognized. In 82% of the cases patients grabbed the bed's side-rail. In 65% of the cases the patients entered long sitting positions.
The results of this study suggest that a long sitting position and the touching of the bed's side-rail are reliable indicators of the desire to get out of bed.
