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The aim of this review is to explore recent literature regarding the development of fall detector technology as part of a service evaluation on the use of fall detectors across the region funded by NHS West Midlands. It also aims to explore the application and the use of products designed to detect falls and alert for help from end‐user and health and social care staff perspectives.

A comprehensive review of the literature of the last ten years was conducted, search terms were used to identify relevant literature from research databases and the main themes from the literature were summarised. This work was carried out to inform a service evaluation of the use of fall detectors across the West Midlands region and was funded by NHS West Midlands.

It was found that whilst there are a wide variety of new technologies regarding fall detectors in development, the range of technologies currently available through health and social services to users are limited. Health and social care staff appear to be less convinced of the benefits of fall detectors than end‐users. There was also a lack of robust evidence regarding different approaches to technology in the management and detection of falls. Users had mixed views regarding the use of fall detectors, with some people having concerns about privacy, lack of human contact, user‐friendliness and appropriate training, whilst others clearly identified the benefits of detecting falls and raising an alert. The implications of these findings for practice are discussed.

This paper will be of value to those working in falls services, telecare or industry partners developing fall detector technology.

The fear of falling in older people can affect health, well‐being, care needs and quality of life. Fall‐monitoring equipment that can automatically raise a call for assistance is increasingly being developed, and may reduce the fear of falling. This study sought to discover the views of users and providers on technology of this type of and to quantify the impact fall detectors have on the fear of falling. The results of the study suggest that fall‐monitoring equipment is not considered routinely as part of a care package, and knowledge of devices is poor. A trial of automatic fall detectors provided indicated that they may reduce fear of falling for certain users and so should be considered in falls management, but more evidence and understanding are required to appreciate both the benefits and shortfalls of providing equipment of this sort.

This article begins with a case study of the Sandwell Telecare Project, an innovatory venture to pioneer the introduction of electronic aids to enable vulnerable people to live independently. The article concludes with an account of the evaluation, which was undertaken by an independent consultant.The publication of this article is particularly timely in view of the Department of Health's expressed intention to make a substantial national investment in assistive technology such as the Sandwell Telecare Project for the two years from 2006. The investment will be known as the Preventative Technology Grant.

The purpose of this paper is to design a human health monitoring system (HHMS) which helps in improving diagnostics at an earlier stage and monitoring after recoup.

The methodology involves a combination of three subsystems which monitors the human parameters such as temperature, heart rate, SpO2, fall and location of the person. Various sensors are used to extract the human parameters, and the data are analysed in a computer subsystem, through Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Internet of Things (IoT) subsystem; the parameters measured are communicated to the caregiver and doctor.

Results have successfully demonstrated monitoring human temperature human temperature, heart rate, SpO2 and fall and location continuously using the HHMS prototype. Reliability of the technique used for monitoring these parameters is assessed by Proteus Professional 8 and LabVIEW simulators.

The HHMS enables long-term monitoring without any sort of interference from regular activities and allows daily health monitoring, elderly monitoring and so on.

First, the proposed HHMS simultaneously monitors five human parameters. Second, unlike most monitoring systems which uses older communication module, the proposed system is made smart using IoT. The proposed method has been made into a prototype system as detailed in this paper. The proposed HHMS can achieve high detection accuracy. Therefore, this system can be reliably deployed into a consumer product for use as monitoring device with high accuracy.

It is now accepted that a course of personalised, well‐planned support services for up to six weeks can prevent or delay the need for an older person to receive long‐term homecare and other labour‐intensive community services. Telecare can play an important role in managing the risks, both during the reablement period, and in the months following service delivery, irrespective of whether the individual needs long‐term homecare. This paper describes an innovative approach to provision that has been adopted in the Vale of Glamorgan, in which the service has been designed and is delivered by the Reablement Team. It is planned to expand the number of people being offered the service in the future by stratifying them using a new algorithm, and then support them subsequently with a pro‐active telephone calling service called CATRIN.

Senior citizen falls are one of the highest-cost factors of healthcare within this population group. Various approaches for automatic fall detection exist. However, little is known about the seniors’ acceptance of these systems. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the acceptance of automatic fall detection devices as well as the technological commitment and the health status in community-dwelling adults with a predefined risk of falling.

Seniors with a risk of falling were equipped with either an accelerometer or an accelerometer with an additional visual and optical fall detection system in a sub-group of the study population for a period of eight weeks. Pre- and post-study questionnaires were used to assess attitudes and acceptance toward technology.

In total, 14 subjects with a mean age of 75.1 years completed the study. Acceptance toward all sensors was high and subjects were confident in their ability to handle technology. Medical assessments showed only very mild physical and no mental impairments. Measures that assured subjects privacy protection were welcomed. Sensor technology should be as unobtrusive as possible.

Privacy protection and uncomplicated use of the fall detection equipment led to high acceptance in seniors with high-technical commitment and good health status. Issues to further improve acceptance could be identified. Future research on different populations is necessary.

The ability to see in the dark is a key differentiator in many military scenarios and the development of thermal imaging (TI) systems has provided the military with a battle winning capability. One of the current key thrusts is to be able to detect and identify targets at significantly longer ranges. The research programme in QinetiQ has been providing solutions to satisfy these requirements for many years. In addition, one of the major benefits from this research, has been the opportunity to provide TI sensors into the civil market for application including fire fighting. In this review many of the new concepts currently being developed are described and illustrated.

The goal of this review paper is to provide information on several commonly used thermography techniques in semiconductor and micro‐device industry and research today.

The temperature imaging or mapping techniques include thin coating methods such as liquid crystal thermography and fluorescence microthermography, contact mechanical methods such as scanning thermal microscopy, and optical techniques such as infrared microscopy and thermoreflectance. Their principles, characteristics and applications are discussed.

Thermal issues play an important part in optimizing the performance and reliability of high‐frequency and high‐packing density electronic circuits. To improve the performance and reliability of microelectronic devices and also to validate thermal models, accurate knowledge of local temperatures and thermal properties is required.

The paper provides readers, especially technical engineers in industry, a general knowledge of several commonly used thermography techniques in the semiconductor and micro‐device industries.

This paper examines, by reference to a telecare service evaluation in the Republic of Ireland, the role and potential of bed epilepsy sensors. It points to benefits for both users and carers that arise from the sensors both enabling speedy responses in the event of a seizure, and in their providing reassurance and a better quality of life for both parties.

Telecare services have evolved from community alarm systems into sophisticated methods of supporting the health and well‐being of many vulnerable groups. Their potential for extending this role may be supported by the integration of services involving all telecare alarm services, primary care services and community equipment stores. The key to integration may be the expanded role of the 24‐hour monitoring centres to provide case review facilities that allow prevention services to be offered following an emergency, as well as the issuing of standalone telecare devices. The potential for successful integration may be governed by the level of training provided for call handling staff, and by the creation of specialist centres using virtualisation technologies.