Roughly three million people in the U.S. are treated in a hospital for fall-related injuries each year, and more than 270,000 older Americans fracture their hip each year as a result of falls. We can work with patients to help improve balance and remove fall risks from their home, but falls aren’t 100 percent preventable. Patients are going to fall, and while we can’t always be there to catch them, their clothes may be able to do just that.
We recently learned that the SAF-T Vest, a wearable personal airbag system, received its “Notice of Allowance” from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This will allow the company to file for a formal patent in the near future, hopefully bringing them a step closer to helping reduce falls among older adults.
SAF-T Vest Basics
The SAF-T Vest is a wearable smartclothes option that was developed by Jay Davenport, M.D., a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. The personal vest monitors the wearer’s center of balance using a group of tiny sensors. When the sensors detect an unrecoverable fall, it quickly deploys an airbag system to greatly reduce the risk and severity of injury from the fall. The bags also then rapidly deflate to prevent a bounce-back effect that could also contribute to injury. The rapid deflation carefully lowers the user to the floor, similar to deflating an air mattress.
“Rather than try to prevent falls, which may be impossible, our idea was to develop a comfortable system that protects people in case they do fall,” said Davenport of the system.
The airbag system is integrated into a vest, along with a microprocessor and sensors. And, it’s quite fashionable, as seen in the accompanying photo.
Not only can the SAF-T Vest help to prevent falls, it can also contribute to wearer independence and a higher quality of life. Older adults can live their lives without fear that they could become another hip fracture statistic. The vest also hopes to help reduce medical expenditures for fall related injuries, which currently tops $50 billion annually in the US alone. Hopefully the company can obtain their patent in the near future and move forward with their device that has the capability to save countless lives each year.
Disclosure – Dr. Silverman sits on the advisory board for the SAF-T- Vest.