Fall Alarms

Falls are a leading cause of injury, particularly among the elderly. To address this, all our devices can be configured to automatically place an SOS call to the response centre if a hard fall is detected.

Inside our devices there is an accelerometer which is designed to recognise a specific pattern of movement, namely a sudden free fall from standing with significant impact. When the device detects this pattern, it makes an SOS two-way voice call to the response centre.

Since everyday activities can occasionally trigger false fall alarms, the user can cancel a fall alert by pressing the SOS button when prompted by the device. If a user finds the fall detection too sensitive, the sensitivity can be adjusted remotely.

It should be noted that certain types of falls may not be detected by the accelerometer in our devices, which is true for all body-worn fall alarm devices on the market. Because of this, we do recommend the user should use the SOS button if a fall is not automatically detected.

Listed below are some examples of falls that may not trigger an automatic SOS call. These are, but not limited to:

• Slumping or falling from a sitting position – falls that are slow or gradual may not be picked up as a sudden impact.
• Broken falls – where the user grabs onto an object, such as furniture, or a wall, which reduces the impact of the fall.
• Worn under clothing – jumpers, coats or other garments can restrict the device’s movement, which in turn reduces the accelerometer’s functionality.
• Backward falls – pendants, which are worn around the neck, are less likely to detect a backwards fall because the device is partially protected by the body.
• Wrist-worn alarms – if the alarm is cradled against the user’s body or covered by clothing, fall detection may be affected.
• Height considerations – the accelerometer may not trigger an alarm if the user is shorter than 1.2 metres (4 feet).