Medical device for fall detection

Abstract

A medical device is configured to produce an accelerometer signal and detect a patient fall from the accelerometer signal. The device generates a body posture signal and a body acceleration signal from the accelerometer signal and detects a patient fall in response to determining that the body posture signal and the body acceleration signal meet fall detection criteria. The medical device is configured to receive a truth signal from another device that is not the medical device. The truth signal may indicate that the detected patient fall is a falsely detected patient fall and, responsive to receiving the truth signal, the medical device adjusts at least one fall detection control parameter.

Description

technical field [0001] The present disclosure relates to a medical device including an accelerometer for detecting that a patient has fallen. Background technique [0002] Various medical devices are available or have been proposed for monitoring patients and / or delivering therapy. Such devices may be implantable, wearable or external monitoring devices, and may include or be coupled to one or more sensors for sensing signals related to the patient's condition. Some medical devices can detect adverse conditions from sensor signals and deliver therapy or generate alarms to alert patients or caregivers. Accelerometers may be included in some medical devices, such as pacemakers, for determining a patient's physical activity, for example, to provide cardiac pacing at a pacing rate based on the patient's activity level. Accelerometers can also be used to determine the patient's posture. [0003] Some patients, such as those who are elderly or infirm or those experiencing neuro...

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