How to prevent falls
This article was originally written and submitted as part of a Canada 150 Project, the Innovation Storybook, to crowdsource stories of Canadian innovation with partners across Canada. The content has since been migrated to Ingenium’s Channel, a digital hub featuring curated content related to science, technology and innovation.
Apr 3, 2017
Media
Researchers at Simon Fraser University are analyzing how people fall with the aim of preventing injuries.
The Technology for Injury Prevention in Seniors (TIPS) program at Simon Fraser University partnered with two long-term care facilities in the Vancouver area to study real-life falls. They’re using this falling data to design new preventions such as compliant flooring and hip protectors that can help alleviate fall-related injuries.
According to principal investigator Stephen Robinovitch, falls are the number one reason older people enter long-term care facilities. But thanks to CFI funding, TIPS has infrastructure to recreate falls in a lab environment. Here, researchers not only study the impact of falls more closely, but can also test prototypes as they develop them.
Find more stories of research in action on Innovation.ca, the website of the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
Transcript
The Technology for Injury Prevention in Seniors (TIPS) program at Simon Fraser University partnered with two long-term care facilities in the Vancouver area to study real-life falls. They’re using this falling data to design new preventions such as compliant flooring and hip protectors that can help alleviate fall-related injuries.
According to principal investigator Stephen Robinovitch, falls are the number one reason older people enter long-term care facilities. But thanks to CFI funding, TIPS has infrastructure to recreate falls in a lab environment. Here, researchers not only study the impact of falls more closely, but can also test prototypes as they develop them.
Canada Foundation for Innovation
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) was built on the ideals of thinking big and investing in areas that matter to Canadians. Since its creation in 1997, the CFI has ensured Canadian researchers have the tools — the cutting-edge labs, facilities and equipment — they need to push the frontiers of knowledge in all disciplines, and to contribute to the full spectrum of research — from discovery to technology development.
