Smart Camera System Fact Sheet
What is the Smart Camera System (SCS)?
The Smart Camera System (SCS) is part of an array of innovative Smart Camera Technology applications developed by Intelliview Inc. - a University of Calgary Electrical Engineering spin-off company. The Smart Camera System (SCS) uses predefined movement boundaries and a monitoring system to detect, identify, and track a patient’s movements in real time. The system allows the care provider to select a preset computer-image boundary around the patient’s bed that will allow the technology to alarm the care provider whenever the patient crosses that boundary (i.e. gets out of bed). The SCS is envisioned to provide assistance to care providers in several health care scenarios. Currently, there are no technologies or clinical processes to identify patients at risk for falling prior to the fall.
Research Background
Following an extensive pre-clinical evaluation of the SCS that will be conducted on Unit 36, the study will focus on: whether the system reliably and consistently detects a patient's movement of leaving their hospital bed, how easy or difficult it is to set up the system (in a real ward setting), and if the system is tolerable for privacy considerations when placed in a patient's room. The SCS is expected to have many beneficial contributions to patient safety, one of which is identifying patients when they increase their risk for falling. Patient falls in hospital are a significant problem that can increase a patients length of hospital stay, morbidity, risk of mortality, quality-of-life, and transition difficulties back to the community. Falls rank second in incidence only to medication errors (Dr. Deb White, personal communication) for acute care facility patients. For health care applications, the SCS is designed for video monitoring only. All video images captured by the SCS are purposefully blurred to protect individual privacy. There is no audio recording or receiving capability. For the purpose of this study, the video data storage disc will be removed from the video processor at the end of each day and stored in a secure place overnight.
Questions?
For more information about the Smart Camera System, please contact Alecia Greenough.