AI ceiling light reduces falls

Artificial intelligence in the form of a ceiling light has been found to not only reduce falls but to also prevent them in care home settings.

Eight hundred AI-powered Nobi smart lights were rolled out across 80 residential homes and nursing homes in Lancashire and South Cumbria over a two-year-period to see if advances in technology could help some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

This scheme has been funded by NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), which organises health and care services across the region.

Since then, Lancaster University has produced an independent evaluation report of the scheme, and it has found the lights reduce the likelihood of experiencing a fall by about 32 per cent. It also reduces ambulance callouts by 23 per cent, prevents future falls, improves the wellbeing of residents and reduces response times to a fall in a bedroom to under three minutes on average.

A systematic UK review found that around 20 per cent of older adults who fall experience a long lie lasting over one hour, resulting in significantly worse health outcomes and higher likelihood of hospitalisation and long-term care transitions.

Dr Andy Knox, medical director at NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, said: “Falls are one of the biggest reasons for hospital admissions in our region so it was crucial that we explored new forms of technology and how it could be harnessed to predict and prevent falls.

“We are extremely pleased with how well the Nobi smart lights have worked, by not only ensuring residents who have fallen are responded to quickly, but by also communicating with care staff in telling them how the fall occurred which in turn has helped prevent future falls.

“Prevention is key to reducing falls and the information that Nobi has been able to supply to staff has resulted in changes being made to the environment which is why this technology has been so significant in keeping people safe.”

Across Lancashire and South Cumbria, providers are supporting people with greater frailty, more advanced dementia and higher levels of clinical complexity, while also facing significant staffing pressures.

Falls continue to be the most common incident reported by local care providers year after year, and many care homes consistently experience fall rates equivalent to 22 falls per 100 beds over a six-month period.

The homes that were picked for the scheme were prioritised to receive the Nobi lights because they face the greatest risk and have the most to gain from technology that can prevent unwitnessed falls, accelerate staff response and reduce avoidable harm.

Roeland Pelgrims, chief executive officer at Nobi, said: “Seeing the real-world impact of Nobi in Lancashire and South Cumbria has been incredibly rewarding.

“The results from the evaluation demonstrate how AI-enabled care technology can play a vital role in reducing falls, improving response times, and ultimately enhancing safety and quality of life for residents in care settings.”

The use of Nobi lights in care homes is estimated to generate an average annual saving between £16,110 and £33,606 per home, with annual savings across all homes between £918,306 and £1,915,549.

Professor Carol Holland, the principal investigator of the evaluation at Lancaster University, said: “This is the largest evaluation of such technology used in a care setting, with the independence from the company and the robust analyses used adding credibility to the very positive findings.

“The combination of different types of data examined ensured the voices of the care staff were included in the evaluation, giving us important insights on how the lights worked in a real world context, what were the features, and how the staff used them, that resulted in the reductions of falls.”

Councillor Graham Dalton, cabinet member for adult social care at Lancashire County Council, said: "These results show how innovative technology like the Nobi smart lights can make a big difference in keeping residents safe and reducing future falls which should offer reassurance to care home residents and their loved ones.

"It's really positive to see care homes embracing technology for the benefit of their residents."