The Journal of mHealth Vol 1 Issue 6 (Dec 2014) | Page 15

Industry News
that the entire system can help ensure
successful prevention and detection
of falls across many different circumstances.

The system is being tested and validated
in three pilot studies involving real living
scenarios, one in each of three different
EU countries (Spain, Italy and Ireland),
in close collaboration with the relevant

public authorities.
A great majority of falls in ageing people result from a combination of factors. The ageing process itself is one of
these factors. Other contributing factors include chronic health problems
(diseases of heart, problems in eyes,
poor vision, muscle weakness, dementia, arthritis, etc), physical and functional
impairments (lower extremity weakness,
balance disorders), medications and
alcohol abuse, and hazards and obstacles
in the home (poor lighting, lack of bathroom safety equipment, loose carpets).
The hope is that FATE can deliver a
complete system that will improve the
prevention of falls in affected ageing
people by addressing and solving a number of relevant issues. These include:
»» The automatic detection of a fall
(with very low error rate)
»» The localisation of where the fall
occurred, thus facilitating the inter-

vention
»» The improvement of the fear of falling (FOF) effect
»» The use of the i-Walker when necessary for mobility improvement and
eventual contribution to rehabilitation
»» The definitive improvement of the
"long-lie" syndrome
»» The precise detection of falls for
people with low cognitive problems
like memory loss is a critical factor in
prescribing a rehabilitation program
The FATE system and the devices that
have been developed have all been
designed within a specific care model
focused on strengthening public and
private collaboration to reach a reliable
service. It is hoped that it will provide
a sustainable model of care that can be
delivered to elderly populations across
Europe.
For more information visit: www.fate.upc.
edu n

Tunstall Expands Global Mobile
Health Portfolio
Tunstall Healthcare, in an exclusive
partnership with Tactio Health Group,
has launched a new app based solution
to improve shared decision making in
health and social care. Adding mobile
solutions to its digital health portfolio,
Tunstall’s apps will enable professionals to re-define the care experience
and expand the number of care facilities including the patient’s location of
choice.
The traditional, passive approach to
healthcare, initiated by the patient visit
to the GP, is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Active health management is
needed so that health and care professionals can cost effectively manage a
wider spectrum of patients and conditions, with full confidence in the data
and reports generated for the individual.
Tunstall’s solution includes tools that
allow data and reports to be appended to
the patient record, and there are plans to
make these solutions interoperable with
GP systems and EPRs.

Self-management through apps is not
unique but “Supported Self-Management” is; it allows health and care professionals to encourage patients to participate in managing their own health
as they work to achieve their individual
goals. The mPro app has been designed
for care professionals to support patients
who download the mTrax app onto their
own smart phone or tablet, keeping track
of mood, sleep, nutrition, pregnancy,
weight, body fat, steps, physical activity, blood pressure, SpO2, cholesterol,
glucose, body temperature and diabetes
(Type 1, Type 2 & Gestational).
Tunstall Active Health Management offers
programmes that can be adapted to the
needs of the individual as their circumstances change. These range from supported self-management to the more
traditional clinically monitored telehealth
solutions, when additional support is
needed. Programmes designed by health
and care professionals and supported by
Tunstall’s extensive experience in telehealth

care, can help people stay healthy for longer and make choices about how to manage or improve their health and wellness.
Cecilia Bufton, Group Product Management Director at Tunstall said, “We
have been evaluating the use of apps and
other similar ‘light touch’ approaches to
telehealth care for a number of years and
have not found anything that meets our
customers’ requirements. The majority
have limitations such as relying on SMS
text only, with no safe audit trail of messaging however I’m pleased to say that
our partnership with Tactio gives us a
comprehensive solution.”
Working on both Android and Apple,
including the new Apple HealthKit on
iOS 8, the flexibility of the system allows
you to see real-time key health and fitness indicators together, in an easy, flexible format. This is about improving
lives and putting people in control of
their own care and Active Health ManContinued on page 14

The Journal of mHealth

13