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The PARAChute Project: Remote Monitoring of Posture and Gait for Fall Prevention

EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing volume 2007, Article number: 027421 (2007) Cite this article

Abstract

Falls in the elderly are a major public health problem due to both their frequency and their medical and social consequences. In France alone, more than two million people aged over 65 years old fall each year, leading to more than 9 000 deaths, in particular in those over 75 years old (more than 8 000 deaths). This paper describes the PARAChute project, which aims to develop a methodology that will enable the detection of an increased risk of falling in community-dwelling elderly. The methods used for a remote noninvasive assessment for static and dynamic balance assessments and gait analysis are described. The final result of the project has been the development of an algorithm for movement detection during gait and a balance signature extracted from a force plate. A multicentre longitudinal evaluation of balance has commenced in order to validate the methodologies and technologies developed in the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute Charles Delaunay, FRE CNRS 2848, University of Technology of Troyes, Troyes, 10000, France

    David J. Hewson, Jacques Duchêne, Valérie Michel-Pellegrino, Hassan Amoud & Michel Doussot

  2. UMR LORIA 7503, Université de Nancy, CNRS-INRIA, Campus Scientifique, BP 239, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, 54506, France

    François Charpillet, Jamal Saboune & Anne Boyer

  3. Faculté de medicine, Institut régional de Réadaptation, 9 Avenue de la Forêt de Haye, BP 184, Vandoeuvre, 54500, France

    Jean Paysant

  4. Neuromuscular Physiology Laboratory, Institut of Myology, GH Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, 75651, France

    Jean-Yves Hogrel

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  1. David J. Hewson
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  2. Jacques Duchêne
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  3. François Charpillet
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  5. Valérie Michel-Pellegrino
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  10. Jean-Yves Hogrel
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Correspondence to David J. Hewson.

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Hewson, D.J., Duchêne, J., Charpillet, F. et al. The PARAChute Project: Remote Monitoring of Posture and Gait for Fall Prevention. EURASIP J. Adv. Signal Process. 2007, 027421 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1155/2007/27421

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