A team of bioengineers and doctors from the University of Waterloo and the Grand River Hospital at Freeport in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario has developed a balance assessment toolkit that costs under $3,000. The team envisions expanding the reach of more accurate balance assessment to physicians, physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals in a wide range of healthcare settings.
Individuals with dementia often experience challenges with sensory input and interpreting the environment. They can take longer to adapt to sudden light changes and may experience an increased sensitivity to glare. Light and other visual disturbances can cause illusions and misperceptions that put them at a higher risk of falling.
Many older adults are at risk of falls and fall-related injuries as their ability to walk declines over time. A team of engineering and rehabilitation professionals at the Assistive Technology Clinic in Toronto is using their $50,000 award from CABHI to develop a laser light module that can project a line of light in the user’s path to help them navigate safely and independently.
The Integrated Community Care Team (ICCT) is a joint initiative of North York General Hospital, the Toronto Community Care Access Centre and Baycrest, created to combat the fragmented care that frail seniors with complex needs often receive and that often results in poor outcomes and unnecessary use of healthcare system resources.
The Activity Measure-Post Acute Care (AM-PAC™) tool is a short paper questionnaire that measures basic mobility, daily activities and applied cognitive ability. It has been validated in multiple clinical settings, including acute care. This project is evaluating its use among frail elderly adults in high and low-intensity rehabilitation programs at Baycrest.
Falls are the predominant cause of injury for older Canadian adults, accounting for over 85 per cent of all injury-related hospitalizations.