For most Canadians Thanksgiving is an annual tradition that brings together families – from grandchildren to grandparents – to celebrate all they’re thankful for.
But with recent flare ups in COVID-19 cases, B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has warned against large family gatherings that expose seniors to people outside their existing bubble.
Seniors have been unfairly impacted by the restrictions designed to stop the spread of COVID-19, but not just because of the devastating effects of social isolation. Their safety is also an issue.
During this pandemic, families and home care service providers that watch over seniors are less likely to check-in on them to make sure they are safe.
A Vancouver startup is using artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor seniors and report emergencies instantly to their family or caregiver.
AltumView‘s Cypress Smart Home Care Alert System is a fall prevention sensor that can monitor the movements and activities of a senior and detect emergencies like falls, waving for help, and wanderings, which are common among patients with dementia.
The system reports these incidents in real time using an app that can be accessed anywhere using a mobile.
It is also capable of fall risk assessment by providing a visual heat map of an area where falls have frequently occurred. This allows the caregiver to take measures, such as removing certain obstacles or blocking access to that location, to prevent similar accidents from happening again.
Concerned about the privacy of the senior? The Cypress sensor is capable of maintaining the privacy of the person being monitored by showing the caregiver a stick-figure animation instead of a raw video.