Hearing Instrument Frailty Assessment via Acceleration and Skin Conductivity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods using acceleration sensors alone are insufficient to provide a comprehensive picture of a person's frailty, especially for individuals with degenerative or muscle/nerve diseases, as they lack data on physiological and psychological circumstances surrounding falls.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a hearing instrument equipped with an acceleration sensor and a skin conductivity sensor to collect movement data and moisture-related data, respectively, to generate a frailty indicator value that accounts for both physical and psychological factors during stumbles or falls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If only acceleration sensors are used to detect falls, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision of frailty assessment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines acceleration sensors and skin conductivity sensors into a single integrated hearing instrument system. The acceleration sensor detects movement data related to stumbles and falls, while the skin conductivity sensor simultaneously measures electrodermal activity. These multiple sensing functions are merged within the same device platform, achieving comprehensive frailty assessment without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The hearing instrument is designed to perform multiple functions: it serves as a hearing aid while simultaneously functioning as a fall detection device and a physiological monitoring system. The device collects both movement data and skin moisture data, enabling it to assess not only hearing needs but also frailty and fall risk, thereby achieving multi-functionality that improves measurement precision without requiring separate dedicated devices.
2Measurement precision
If only movement data from acceleration sensors are collected, then the loss of information is minimized in terms of data storage, but the measurement precision of physiological circumstances deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges movement data from acceleration sensors with skin moisture data from conductivity sensors into a unified data set. This combination captures both the physical aspect of falls (movement) and the physiological response (sweating from adrenaline), providing a complete picture of the event without losing critical information about the person's state.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses skin conductivity measurements as feedback to understand the physiological state of the person during and after falls. The electrodermal activity data provides real-time feedback about the person's stress response, allowing the system to distinguish between intentional movements and actual falls, and to assess the severity of the event based on physiological reactions.
3Measurement precision
If skin conductivity sensors are added to collect moisture-related data, then the measurement precision of frailty indicator improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing instrument leverages its existing presence in the user's ear to perform multiple monitoring functions. By adding skin conductivity sensing capability to the existing acceleration sensing, the device achieves multi-functionality where a single worn device provides both hearing assistance and comprehensive fall/frailty assessment, reducing the need for multiple separate devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the hearing instrument itself as the platform for additional sensing functions. Rather than requiring a separate wearable device, the hearing aid serves multiple purposes including fall detection and physiological monitoring, allowing the system to gather comprehensive data while minimizing additional hardware requirements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method effectively generates a frailty indicator value that provides a more complete assessment of a person's vulnerability to falls, incorporating both physical movement data and physiological/psychological responses, thereby improving the accuracy of frailty evaluation.
Implementation Method 1
a skin sensor (in particular a skin conductivity sensor) of the hearing instrument and/or a skin sensor (in particular a skin conductivity sensor) of a first auxiliary device collect second moisture-related data in the immediate time surrounding the stumble or fall, in particular data relating to an electrodermal activity of the person
Data Source
AI summary
A method creates a frailty indicator value for a person using a hearing instrument. At least one acceleration sensor of the hearing instrument collects first movement data relating to a stumble and/or fall. A skin sensor of the hearing instrument and/or a skin sensor of a first auxiliary device, which can be connected to the hearing instrument for data purposes, collects second moisture-related data in the immediate time surrounding the stumble or fall, in particular data relating to an electrodermal activity, which afford information about physiological and/or psychological circumstances in the time surrounding the stumble or fall. The frailty indicator value is generated on the basis of the first movement data and on the basis of the second moisture-related data.