Fall Detection and Warning System for Nursing Homes based on Bluetooth Low Energy

Fall accidents are a frequent problem with the elderly and lead to severe injuries and/or could have a lethal ending. To prevent these potential deaths the nursing personnel visits the elderly on a regular basis. This has an enormous influence on the mental and physical capabilities of the nursing personnel. In combination with the ever-growing presence of Internet of Things (IoT) applications, this paper proposes a low-power wireless fall detection and warning system based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The aim of the system is to lower the workload of the nursing personnel and prevent elderly from dying from hypothermia. The system consists of a patient wearable (P) monitoring the movement of the elderly, a Detection Node (DN) scanning the room of the elderly to pinpoint the position of the fallen elderly, multiple Network Nodes (NNs) in the hallways sending the alert messages to the closest caretaker wearing a Caretaker Node (CN). This node visualizes all vital parameters, so the nursing personnel can help in the fastest way possible. A proof-of-concept is proposed in this paper, together with measurements and power analysis.