title: Fall detection with body-worn sensors : a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Falls among older people remain a major public health challenge. Body-worn sensors are needed to improve the understanding of the underlying mechanisms and kinematics of falls. The aim of this systematic review is to assemble, extract and critically discuss the information available in published studies, as well as the characteristics of these investigations (fall documentation and technical characteristics).
  
  
  METHODS
  The searching of publically accessible electronic literature databases for articles on fall detection with body-worn sensors identified a collection of 96 records (33 journal articles, 60 conference proceedings and 3 project reports) published between 1998 and 2012. These publications were analysed by two independent expert reviewers. Information was extracted into a custom-built data form and processed using SPSS (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main findings were the lack of agreement between the methodology and documentation protocols (study, fall reporting and technical characteristics) used in the studies, as well as a substantial lack of real-world fall recordings. A methodological pitfall identified in most articles was the lack of an established fall definition. The types of sensors and their technical specifications varied considerably between studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Limited methodological agreement between sensor-based fall detection studies using body-worn sensors was identified. Published evidence-based support for commercially available fall detection devices is still lacking. A worldwide research group consensus is needed to address fundamental issues such as incident verification, the establishment of guidelines for fall reporting and the development of a common fall definition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Gerontology, Robert-Bosch Hospital, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schwickert
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lindemann
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maréchal
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bourke
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chiari
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Helbostad
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zijlstra
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aminian
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bandinelli
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klenk
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D056044:Actigraphy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014159:Transducers