TD‐P‐006: REDUCING THE FREQUENCY AND IMPACT OF FALLS IN DEMENTIA MANAGED CARE THROUGH VIDEO MONITORING AND INCIDENT REVIEW
É. Bayen, Julien Jacquemot, George M. Netscher, Pulkit Agrawal, Lynn Tabb Noyce, Alex Bayen · Alzheimer s & Dementia · 2018
Falls of individuals with dementia are frequent, dangerous and costly. Early detection and access to the history of a fall is crucial for efficient care and secondary prevention in cognitively impaired individuals. However, most falls remain unwitnessed events, and why and how a fall happened in a patient with dementia is a challenge. Computer vision, video-capture and secure transmission of real-world falls stands thus as a promising assistive tool for people with dementia. We report here on a new technology developing artificial intelligence for managed dementia care to reduce the frequency and impact of falls, the leading case of hospitalization in dementia. The objective of the study was to analyze how continuous video-monitoring and review of falls can support better quality of care in dementia. A pilot observational study (July-September 2016) was carried out in a Californian memory care facility. Falls were video-captured (24/24, 7/7) thanks to 43 wall-mounted cameras (deployed in all common areas and in 10 out of 40 private bedrooms of consenting residents and families). Video-review was provided to facility staff thanks to a customized mobile device application. The outcome measures were the count of residents’ falls happening in the video-covered areas, the acceptability of video-recording, the analysis of video-review and -replay possibilities for care practice. A second study (October 2017- ongoing) including over 10 Californian memory care facilities is underway. Regarding the pilot study, 16 falls were video-captured over three months. A drop in fall rate was observed in the last month. Acceptability was good. Video-review enabled screening for the severity of falls and fall-related-injuries. Video-replay enabled identifying cognitive-behavioral deficiencies and environmental circumstances contributing to the fall. This allowed for secondary prevention in high-risk multi-faller individuals and for updated facility care policies regarding a safer living environment for all residents. More data about how computer vision for managed Alzheimer's care can reduce the frequency and impact of safety-critical events will be available soon to complement these pilot results. Video-monitoring offers high potential to support conventional care in memory care facilities.