How AI is trying to prevent hospital patients from suffering falls

An American health-tech startup has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) software which can predict when hospital patients will suffer a fall, according to a Bloomberg report. A patient fall is defined as an unplanned descent to the floor triggered by physiological conditions such as fainting or external factors such as a wet surface. According to the report, nearly one million hospitalised patients hit the floor every year and a third of these falls result in injuries, including fractures and head trauma. California-based Qventus Inc has attempted to solve the problem of nurses who miss distress signals or calls from patients because of'alarm fatigue' - sensory overload from various hospital sounds and alerts. Qventus' programme extracts and analyses all the data from call lights (the button patients press when they need help), bed alarms, and electronic medical records.