A partnership between Austco will develop a touchless, camera-free fall detection and activity monitoring system to help detect falls and risks.
Austco, an international manufacturer of nurse call systems and healthcare communications solutions for hospitals and senior care facilities, has partnered with Vayyar, developer of 4D imaging radar, to provide touchless, camera-free fall detection and activity monitoring.
Austco plans to integrate Vayyar Care devices directly with its Tacera nurse call platform to power several solutions for different segments of the market: independent living and aged care, remote patient monitoring, and dementia/memory care.
The integrated solution will provide fall alerts in all scenarios, including when a resident or patient cannot operate a standard alarm system or has neglected to put on a wearable device.
Austco will also leverage the rich behavioral data gathered by Vayyar Care. Insights into how long residents spend alone in their suites, in bed or at rest, and the frequency and duration of bathroom visits will reveal various issues.
Issues that it could gather data on include changes in residents’ clinical conditions, reduced mobility, level of medication compliance, morbidities such as UTIs (urinary tract infections), and mental conditions, such as early signs of depression.
With the ability to “see” residents in all conditions without revealing identifying information, the integrated solution gives caregivers the visibility they need to monitor residents and patients without violating their privacy.
The data is at the core of an emerging predictive, data-driven care model that will enhance resident and patient outcomes, reduce the burden on frontline caregivers, and increase profitability for healthcare facilities across all categories.
Austco plans installations across the company’s key markets, including Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Europe, the US, and Canada.
In independent and assisted living, the focus will be on fall reduction and prevention by identifying behavioral changes and detecting “hidden” falls – incidents that residents often fail to report but which are the leading predictor of subsequent, more serious falls.
In higher acuity facilities such as skilled nursing and post-acute care, Austco will assess and mitigate fall risk through multifactorial activity analytics and vital signs monitoring, while in memory care, operators will be able to overcome the challenge of residents’ inability to report health and wellbeing issues through 24/7 monitoring.
The integrated solution will also enable a suite of automated applications, such as lighting, environmental control, and security features, that can reduce risk and enhance comfort for residents in all types of facilities.
“Residents and patients deserve both protection and privacy, and caregivers and facility administrators need a new level of data-driven insight,” said Kevin Higgins, vice president of product, Austco. “Integrating Vayyar’s best-in-class camera-free technology will keep Austco at the cutting edge of emerging monitoring markets as we look to expand worldwide.”
Easing the burden on facility staff is a key dimension of the partnership. Vayyar Care’s exceptionally high accuracy rate enables caregivers to instantly verify that a real fall has occurred, mitigating alarm fatigue – and potential delayed response – due to resident overuse of nurse call systems.
“Integrating with a system of the caliber of Austco’s is a significant milestone for our solution,” said Guy Meger, head of the Vayyar Care business unit. “Our technology is designed and built to provide the data that will transform the industry, and I’m excited to collaborate with Austco on driving that change.”
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