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Sensitivity and False Alarm Rate of a Fall Sensor in Long-Term Fall Detection in the Elderly
Maarit Kangas, Raija Korpelainen, Irene Vikman, Lars H Nyberg, Timo J. Jämsä. Gerontology, 2014-08-13
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The fall detection system detected 12 out of 15 real-life falls, having a sensitivity of 80.0%, with a false alarm rate of 0.049 alarms per usage hour with the implemented real-time system. With minor modification of data analysis the false alarm rate was reduced to 0.025 false alarms per hour, equating to 1 false fall alarm per 40 usage hours. These data suggest that automatic accelerometric fall detection systems might offer a tool for improving safety among older people.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Kangas, M., Korpelainen, R., Vikman, I., Nyberg, L. H., & Jämsä, T. J. (2014). Sensitivity and False Alarm Rate of a Fall Sensor in Long-Term Fall Detection in the Elderly. Gerontology. https://doi.org/10.1159/000362720
Vancouver
Kangas M, Korpelainen R, Vikman I, Nyberg LH, Jämsä TJ. Sensitivity and False Alarm Rate of a Fall Sensor in Long-Term Fall Detection in the Elderly. Gerontology. 2014. doi:10.1159/000362720. PMID: 25138139.
BibTeX
@article{kangas2014-25138139,
author = {Kangas, Maarit and Korpelainen, Raija and Vikman, Irene and Nyberg, Lars H and Jämsä, Timo J.},
title = {{Sensitivity and False Alarm Rate of a Fall Sensor in Long-Term Fall Detection in the Elderly}},
journal = {Gerontology},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1159/000362720},
pmid = {25138139},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1159/000362720}
}
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Key findings
- The fall detection system detected 12 out of 15 real-life falls, having a sensitivity of 80.0%, with a false alarm rate of 0.049 alarms per usage hour with the implemented real-time system.
- With minor modification of data analysis the false alarm rate was reduced to 0.025 false alarms per hour, equating to 1 false fall alarm per 40 usage hours.
- These data suggest that automatic accelerometric fall detection systems might offer a tool for improving safety among older people.
Why it matters
The fall detection system detected 12 out of 15 real-life falls, giving a sensitivity of 80.0%, with a false alarm rate of 0.049 alarms per usage hour that was reduced to 0.025 with minor modification of data analysis. The authors suggest that automatic accelerometric fall detection systems might offer a tool for improving safety among older people.
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Study details
- Participants15,500
- Effect size80.0%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here and still being cited, so those were left out: it earned 36 of the 72 points we could judge it on, which is 50 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Gerontology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Gerontology: journal h-index 151 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 15,500 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | Citation count not trusted: 144 of 520 library studies citing it were published more than a year before it - a sign OpenAlex merged several works under this DOI — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | Citation count not trusted (see above) — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | Citation count not trusted (see above) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Library citations not trusted (see above) — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | Citation count not trusted (see above) — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Timo J. Jämsä: h-index 47 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | University of Oulu: institution h-index 648 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25138139) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 36 / 72 | Scored on 15 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 36 of the 72 points we could judge it on is 50 out of 100. |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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