Singapore Polytechnic has partnered the Agency of Integrated Care and Temasek Cares to come up with a floor projection system at the hospital that trains the elderly on road safety, reported The Sunday Times.
The project comes amid a worrying trend of rising road casualties involving the elderly. In the first six months of this year, 102 elderly pedestrians died or were injured, police told the local paper. Last year, the number of casualties who were elderly rose 13 percent to 226, from 200 in 2011.
The statistics on elderly pedestrian fatalities are just as grim. Of the 44 pedestrian fatalities reported last year, more than half were above 60 years old.
Mr Heng Chee How, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, said earlier this year that senior citizens are more vulnerable on the roads due to their age and slower reflexes.
Hence, the project seeks to help the aged improve their gait, strengthen their limbs and regain their sense of balance.
For example, the pilot scheme at St Andrew's Community Hospital will have an image of a traffic crossing projected onto a floor for an elderly person to manoeuvre and practise with a therapist. It targets mainly elderly persons who are at high risk of suffering from falls or who have a history of stroke and arthritis, which impairs their balance or lower limbs.
Sensors attached to an ankle, a knee and a hip of an elderly person will enable the therapist to note the time he takes to get on his feet after sitting, his reaction time as he starts to cross the road at a traffic junction or zebra crossing, and the time he takes to make his way across.
They also allow the therapist to discern if the amount of weight the person is placing on each leg is appropriate. With the information, limb or other types of exercises are then designed for the elderly, if necessary.
With the new system, which will begin its pilot run early next year, patients can practise and exercise in a safe indoor environment before heading out. Temasek Cares will fund the project to the tune of $182,000 over three years, and an evaluation will be done after one year. If successful, it may be rolled out in other hospitals, nursing homes or day rehabilitation centres.
