A Review of Materials and Components for Developing a Smart Fall Detecting System
Pages : 275-280Download PDF
Fall of patients, aged people at home when alone and also at hospitals is a critical issue. If unnoticed in time falls can be a serious issue. It causes physical injuries and psychological effects. Falls at times can be fatal than the disease that causes fall. Hence there is a requirement of development of a system which can locate, identify fall. This can be achieved by using Flexible electronics. Flexible electronics constitutes mounting of circuits on flexible substrates and their biocompatible nature is of great interest in the biomedical field. Mounting electronic components on a flexible substrate makes a smart fall detection system which is flexible, potable and cost-effective. This makes the device a wearable gadget. A detailed literature review was conducted to identify the technical specifications of a fall detector; various substrates used to make flexible equipment .The review consisted of components and materials that can be used to develop a fall detector. The review shows the components which are used to design fall detectors such as Tri-axial accelerometers, Microcontrollers, various types of Transmitting modalities, receivers and various polymers used to make biomedical devices. The various manufacturers of accelerometers were noted. The various microcontrollers used were studied in detail and noted. The various polymers on which biomedical devices can be embedded were studied and their properties such as effects of corrosion, fatigue, instability, and irritability to tissues, and also mechanical characteristics were studied. Different circuits used and Anatomical positions for mounting the device were also studied.The various manufacturers of Fall detection were noted.
Keywords: Flexible electronics, biocompatible, wearable, polymers, Anatomical positions.