For the elderly and infirm, the risk of a bad fall can be significant and have consequences from broken bones to anxiety and worry that can further inhibit mobility. But the ability of those most at risk of a fall to keep their balance looks like it is about to get a helping hand from technology. Scientists have developed a small device worn on the tip of a finger like a thimble that detects if the wearer starts to sway and effectively helps them restore their balance.
All the device actually does is deliver tiny vibrations when it detects a loss of balance. It’s still not entirely clear why but even the slightest of touches, even if there is no actual support able to hold a person’s weight, can often be enough for someone to regain their balance and stop a fall. And the brain seems to react to the tiny vibrations emitted by the device as though they were such a light, balance-restoring touch.
Often it is the simplest of interventions that are the most effective and testing indicates the device, developed by scientists at Japan’s Yokohama National University and colleagues from Hiroshima’s Prefectural University, could significantly reduce the risk of a fall for the elderly and infirm. The idea for the device comes from research showing someone lightly touching a surface unable to support their weight, like a curtain or piece of paper, is often enough to bring swaying under control. A light touch is even effective if the person’s eyes are closed.
The device developed provides a ‘virtual light touch’, which it seems is enough to have the same effect on the balance mechanisms as a fingertip touch to a light physical object.
Our sense of balance relies on the vestibular system in our inner ear. It contains fluid and small hair cells that detect how that fluid ‘sloshes’ as we move or remain stable. The way the fluid moves informs the rest of the body how it should react to maintain balance. But as we age these hair cells begin to die off, which leads to a drop-off in the reliability of our system for balance.
It’s also been found traditional aids like a walking stick or frame can actually impair the user’s sense of balance in circumstances like using stairs or getting in or out of a car or bathtub. The new invention seems to solve much of the problem.
The device worn on the end of the dominant index finger is covered in silicon rubber for comfort and waterproofing and is attached to a small computer worn on the wrist like a smartwatch.
An accelerometer in the device quickly detects if the wearer starts to sway and a ‘nudge’ is delivered to the fingertip the device is worn on. The device is sophisticated enough to customise the strength and direction of the vibrations to the direction and severity of the sway.
The research team behind the device wants to make further improvements to make it more comfortable like reducing its weight and size. But that should be perfectly achievable with a little more R&D and the scientists are confident their invention could soon “enjoy widespread adoption amongst elderly people as a balance aid in everyday life”.
As well as hopefully preventing a majority of falls, the device, if connected to a smartwatch, can also detect if a fall does take place. If it senses no or unnatural movement after a fall it sends alerts to the wearer asking them if they are ok. If a response isn’t received messages are then sent to emergency services and the wearer’s emergency contacts.