Irving-based Austco, an international manufacturer of nurse call systems and healthcare communications solutions for hospitals and senior care facilities, has partnered with Vayyar, an Israeli leader in 4D imaging radar, to provide touchless, camera-free fall detection and activity monitoring.

Austco said it plans to integrate Vayyar Care devices, roughly the size of a smoke detector, directly with its Tacera nurse call platform to power several solutions for independent living and aged care, remote patient monitoring, and dementia/memory care.

Protection and Privacy

“Residents and patients deserve both protection and privacy, and caregivers and facility administrators need a new level of data-driven insight,” Kevin Higgins, VP of product at Austco, said in a statement. “Integrating Vayyar’s best-in-class camera-free technology will keep Austco at the cutting edge of emerging monitoring markets, as we look to expand worldwide.”

The company said that the integrated solution will provide fall alerts in all scenarios, including those when a resident or patient is unable to operate a standard alarm system, or has neglected to put on a wearable device.

Austco said it also will leverage the rich behavioral data gathered by Vayyar Care. Insights into how long residents spend alone in their suites, in bed or at rest, and the frequency and duration of bathroom visits will reveal a range of issues.

That includes changes in residents’ clinical conditions, reduced mobility, level of medication compliance, morbidities such as urinary tract infections, and mental conditions such as early signs of depression, Austco said.

Monitoring patients for falls and health changes

With the ability to “see” residents in all conditions without revealing personally identifying information, Austco said the solution gives caregivers the visibility they need to monitor residents and patients without violating their privacy.

Austco said that it’s planning installations across the company’s key geographies, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom and Europe.

Includes detection of ‘hidden’ falls

In independent and assisted living, the focus will be on fall reduction and prevention by identifying behavioral changes and detecting “hidden” falls—incidents that, according to the company, residents often fail to report but which are the leading predictor of subsequent, more serious falls.

In higher acuity facilities such as skilled nursing and post-acute care, Austco said it will assess and mitigate fall risk through multifactorial activity analytics and vital signs monitoring, while in memory care, operators will be able to overcome the challenge of residents’ inability to report health and wellbeing issues via 24/7 monitoring.

Applications and data to ‘transform the industry’

The integrated solution will also enable a suite of automated applications such as lighting, environmental control, and security features, that will reduce risk and enhance comfort for residents in all types of facilities, Austco said.

Vayyar Care’s exceptionally high accuracy rate enables caregivers to instantly verify that a real fall has occurred, which mitigates alarm fatigue—and potential delayed response—due to resident overuse of nurse call systems.

“Integrating with a system of the caliber of Austco’s is a significant milestone for our solution,” said Guy Meger, head of the Vayyar Care Business Unit. “Our technology is designed and built to provide the data that will transform the industry and I’m excited to collaborate with Austco on driving that change.”

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