Markets Insider: Future of intelligent assisted living
UC engineers use AI to help caregivers respond quickly to falls
Markets Insider highlighted research by the University of CIncinnati to develop better sensor detection of falls among the elderly so caregivers can respond more quickly.
Nirmalya Thakur
Falls are one of the leading causes of injury. More than 2.8 million older Americans are treated each year in emergency rooms for injuries sustained in a fall. More than 30,000 people 65 or older die in falls each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Medicare spent an estimated $52 billion last year covering injuries sustained in falls.
UC College of Engineering and Applied Science associate professor emeritus Chia Han and UC researcher Nirmalya Thakur developed a more reliable machine learning method to detect falls. The system can be used to alert caregivers to a fall so they can respond immediately.
Their approach identified a fall with more than 99% accuracy using two datasets.
The study was published in the Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks.
Thakur said UC's fall-detection system can be integrated into wearable sensors or smart homes and assisted living centers that increasingly use technology to keep residents safe.
Featured image at top: UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science came up with a more reliable system for detecting when someone falls. Photo/Claudia van Zyl/Unsplash
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.