AZ Sint-Maarten first hospital in the world with smart Nobi lamps for fall detection and prevention
AZ Sint-Maarten is the first hospital in Belgium to install the Nobi lamp for fall detection and fall prevention in geriatric patients. Thanks to the lamp, caregivers immediately receive a signal if a patient has fallen. Speedy help after a fall makes a fundamental difference in the subsequent recovery process. Nobi also focuses on fall prevention by automatically switching on lights at night when patients sit up and when they get out of bed. Nursing staff are also notified when a patient goes to the bathroom at night so they can proactively help patients with a high risk of falling. Sleep reports also provide valuable insights into preventive healthcare.
Dr Van Esbroeck (Head of the Geriatric Department): “Fall prevention is a major concern in hospital settings, especially in geriatrics. Through the room’s design, the provision of aids and very specific tips that we give patients, we do everything we can to prevent falls. Nobi’s smart lamp is like an ever-present guardian angel that helps us anticipate to avoid a fall or provide faster assistance in the event of a fall. It also provides the multidisciplinary team with data to analyse what preceded the fall. This can support us in further treatment and therapy and help us to avoid falls.”
Importance of fall prevention
Data from the Flanders Expertise Centre for Fall Prevention and Fracture Prevention shows that, worldwide, every second someone over 65 falls, every 11 seconds someone over 65 is admitted to hospital via emergency rooms after a fall, and every 19 minutes someone over 65 dies as a result of a fall.
Kim Van Achteren (Responsible for the Geriatric Cluster): “The vast majority of our geriatric patients are admitted to hospital after a fall. A fall is often not an isolated event for them; it’s usually an indicator of underlying problems. The fall itself can have a great impact on these fragile patients and their acquaintances. In addition to physical damage, a fall can also lead to psychosocial consequences. Increased insecurity, for example, can cause people to avoid certain activities. This can affect mobility and social contacts. Bruises or fractures result in a recovery process that often demands a lot of energy from older people. In extreme cases, falls also have an impact on mortality. These are all reasons why fall prevention is so important.”
Nobi’s smart lamp
Nobi is an innovative Belgian company. Nobi’s first product is the intelligent lamp that is helping to solve a global problem: falls by older adults. With the help of a sophisticated sensor system and artificial intelligence, the Nobi lamp detects when someone falls and ensures that assistance is provided. It also helps prevent falls. Nobi registers when the resident sits up in bed at night and automatically switches on soft lighting. This helps prevent disorientation when waking up and a fall when getting out of bed. Via app notifications, the nursing staff receive alerts on their devices so that they can intervene quickly.
For the design of the lamp, Nobi received a gold award in 2021 at the prestigious Henry van de Velde Awards in the categories’ Consumer’ and ‘Business Innovation’ and a German Design Award shortly after that.
In the interest of patients and staff
Patrick Nieulandt (Director of the Nursing and Paramedical Department): “Both Nobi for the patients’ rooms and the smaller variant Nobita for the patients’ bathrooms were purchased. We made the decision to purchase them in the interests of our geriatric patients, but also to support our valuable caregivers.”
Nobi’s smart lamps ensure that caregivers can provide immediate assistance at all times. This gives them peace of mind. Nobi also helps prevent falls, giving them a sense of control. In time, Nobi will also assume some administrative tasks. That is another way to relieve pressure on the hard-working employees at AZ Sint-Maarten.
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About AZ Sint-Maarten
AZ Sint-Maarten is a large regional hospital with 643 hospital beds (approx. 50% are beds in single rooms), 100 beds in the outpatient department, lots of consultations (polyclinic) and many research departments. With five nursing units focused on acute geriatrics/geriatric psychiatry/geriatric orthopaedics and ambulatory assistance with a geriatric outpatient hospital, AZ Sint-Maarten has one of the largest geriatric care programmes in the region. Our hospital has about 385,000 patient contacts annually (admissions, outpatient services, polyclinic, medical-technical services). AZ Sint-Maarten serves a wide region around Mechelen, stretching from Ranst to Zemst and from Londerzeel to Heist-op-den-Berg. AZ Sint-Maarten, together with about 20 other healthcare and welfare institutions, is part of the non-profit organisation Emmaüs.
About Nobi
Nobi is a start-up that was established in Antwerp, Belgium in 2018. Since 2021, the company has also been focusing on international expansion with offices in the Netherlands, Austria and the United States. Nobi wants to enable as many older adults as possible to live independently with a high quality of life for as long as possible without a care in the world. The advantages of the Nobi smart lamps are undeniable in residential care homes and assisted living facilities too. Nobi lamps efficiently support care personnel and allow them to fully concentrate on their core mission: helping the elderly to live a happy and comfortable life. All information can be found on www.nobi.life.
Liesbeth Pyck
Dany Daelemans