New smartphone application is an advancement in elder care

Taking a fall can be a devastating blow for the elderly. While younger, resilient bodies can easily bounce back, falls in the older population can result in bruises, fractures and other debilitating injuries. Luckily, with the advent of smartphone, two applications are offering concerned family members some peace of mind about their loved ones, eldergadget.com reports.


The Fall Alert and the iDown have both been created with the users' well being in mind.

The Fall Alert, for instance, can detect the sudden acceleration of a fall and call a designated phone number. The iDown is similar, but it sends emails to a list of contacts instead.


The advancement may be good news for those over the age of 65. According to the Toronto Star, approximately 1.4 million Canadian citizens in this age group fall each year and half of them cannot get up on their own. General manager of Phillips Home Monitoring Erik Sande told the source that the effects of a fall can go beyond just physical health.


"Falls are an epidemic for seniors. They can cause very significant health issues, but there's also emotional distress," Sande told the news outlet.


© Copyright