Table 3.
Analysis of the proposals: characteristics of the fall reaction.
| Local Reaction | Remote Alarm Transmission | Logged Data | Typology of RMU | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ref. | Type of Local Alarm | User Feedback (Alarm Stop) | Transmission Technology | Type of Remote Alarm | Transmitted Data (Apart from Fall Status and User ID) | Stored Data | |
| [6] | Visual signal | Yes | TCP/IP socket (presumed Wi-Fi, 3G/4G) | Not commented | Not commented | Not commented | Web page |
| [53] | Vibration, visual alarm and audio message | Yes | Cellular telephony | SMS, phone call | Timestamp, GPS location and password | Not implemented | Cell phone |
| [55] | Acoustic alarm | Yes | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [61] | Acoustic Alarm | Yes | 3/4 G | Multimedia flow (technology is not commented) | ECG signal. GPS location | Biosignals (SPO2, ECG signals) | Web page |
| [69] | Text message and vibration | No | No remote alert is emitted | - | - | - | - |
| [72] | Audio alarm (voice message) | Yes | No remote alert is emitted | - | - | - | - |
| [73] | Not commented | No | Alerting just suggested | Not commented | GPS location | Not commented | Not commented |
| [76] | Acoustic alarm | Yes | Cellular telephony /Wi-Fi through SSL protocol | SMS, email | Accelerometer data | Accelerometer data (in a SD card of SP) | Cell phone, email client |
| [82] | Acoustic alarm | Yes | (presumed) 3G/4G | SMS, email, Twitter messages | GPS location | Not commented | Cell phone, email client, web page |
| [94] | Not commented | No | (Presumed) 3G/4G/Wi-Fi | Visual signal in a Web page | Position, type of performed activity | Not commented | Web application |
| [95] | Not commented | No | BT between the sensor and the SP. 3G/Wi-Fi to the RMU | Voice call, SMS, alert message to a central server | Not commented | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [99] | Not commented | No | Cell telephony | SMS, email | Not commented | Not commented | Cell phone, email client |
| [101] | Acoustic and visual alarm | Yes | Cellular telephony | SMS | Not commented | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [103] | Not commented | No | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [105] | Not commented | No | Wi-Fi | No remote real-time alert is emitted | - | Acceleration data is stored in the SP and transmitted to a | Off line analysis of the recorded data in a server |
| server after the monitoring period | |||||||
| [110] [111] |
Acoustic Alarm | No | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [112] | Not commented | Yes | 3G/Wi-Fi | e-mails, SMS, pop-ups on installed computer widgets | GPS location, user’s information | Not commented | Email client, cell phone, Web application & Widget |
| [113] | Acoustic and visual alarm, phone vibrations | Yes | Wi-Fi/3G/4G | Multimedia flow (not specifically commented) | Timestamp and GPS location | Diverse biosignals | Web page, iPhone and Droid applications |
| [114] | Local sound alert | Yes | Cellular telephony | SMS | GPS location, date, time | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [115] | Acoustic and visual alarm | No | Cellular telephony | SMS | GPS location | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [116] | Acoustic Alarm | Yes | 3G/4G (presumed) | SMS, email | Not commented | Not commented | Cell phone, email client |
| [118] [117] |
Not commented | No | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [119] | Message | No | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [120] | Not commented | No | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [121] | Not commented | No | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [122] | Acoustic alarm | Yes | Cell telephony | SMS | GPS location | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [123] | Not commented | No | Ethernet | Not commented | Sensed data | Sensed data | External database |
| [124] | Visual alarm | Yes | Cellular telephony | SMS | Not commented | Timestamp (logged in the SP) | Cell phone |
| [125] | Visual alarm | Yes | Cellular telephony | SMS | Not commented | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [126] [127] |
Not commented | No | Not commented | MMS | timestamp, GPS location, and Google map | Acceleration data (local SQLite database in the SP) | Cell phone |
| [128] | Acoustic alarm, phone vibrations, tips to the user | Yes | Cellular telephony (presumed) | Message (SMS presumed) | Timestamp, location and the personal health information | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [129] | Not commented | No | No remote alert is sent | - | - | Acceleration data (in the SP) | - |
| [130] | Not commented | No | Cellular telephony | SMS, MMS or phone call | Heart rate, body temperature, tilt and fall of the patient | Heart rate, body temperature, tilt and fall of the patient | Cell phone |
| [131] | Acoustic and visual alarm | Yes | Cellular telephony | SMS | GPS location | GPS data in an external database | Web page and Mobile app |
| [132] | Not commented | Yes | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [133] | Audio alarm | Yes | 3G/4G/Wi-Fi | Email/SMS to the RMU, SSL connection to a server | Inertial signals (to the server) | Acceleration data stored in the SP and in a server | Email client, cell phone, Web page |
| [134] | Acceleration data are displayed on the SP | No | No remote alert is emitted | - | - | Acceleration data stored in the SP | - |
| [136] | Not commented | No | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [137] | Not commented | No | 3G/4G | SMS, phone call | GPS location | Fall history (in a web server) | Cell phone, Web page |
| [138] | Visual and sound alarm | No | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [139] | Alert (type not commented) | No | 3G/Wi-Fi | Not commented | Biosignals from medical sensors | Not commented | Mobile app |
| [140] | Acoustic alarm | Yes | Cellular telephony (presumed) | Message (presumed SMS) | Oxygen saturation values, GPS location and fall direction | Oxygen saturation values, GPS location and fall direction | Smart-home database (not described) |
| [141] | Phone vibrations | Yes | No remote alert is sent | - | - | Acceleration data stored in a local SD card | - |
| [142] | Not commented | No | 3G/4G (presumed) | Timestamp, GPS location | Not commented | Email client | |
| [143] | Buzzer | No | Cellular telephony | Phone call, SMS, XML file | GPS location | User status | Cell Phone |
| [144] | Not commented | Yes | Cellular telephony | SMS | Not commented | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [145] | Not commented | No | Cellular telephony | Phone call | A set of health parameters | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [146] | Not commented | No | No alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [147] | Not commented | No | Cellular telephony | SMS | GPS location | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [148] | Not commented | No | Cellular telephony | MMS | GPS location | Acceleration and gyroscope data, orientation signals stored in SP | Cell phone |
| [149] | Visual alarms and notifications on a biofeedback application | No | Cellular telephony/Wi-Fi | SMS and email (to RMU), message using HTTP protocol and REST Web services (to a database) | Values from the medical sensors, GPS coordinates | Values from the medical sensors, GPS data | Cell phone, email client, HTTP client |
| [150] | Visual alarm | Yes | Cellular telephony | SMS | GPS location | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [151] | Visual alarm | Yes | Wi-Fi | Email, TCP/IP socket | Accelerometer data | NC | Email client, Monitoring application in a PC |
| [152] | Not commented | Yes | 3G | SMS | GPS location | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [153] [154] |
Not commented | Yes | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [155] | Visual alarm Audible alarm after fall |
Yes | Cellular telephony | SMS | Timestamp, GPS location or cell-tower positioning (indoors) | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [156] | Acoustic alarm | No | Alerting just suggested | Not commented | GPS location | Not commented | Not commented |
| [157] | Acoustic alarm | No | 3G/4G/Wi-Fi | email, SMS | Timestamp, GPS location and a link to Google maps | Not commented | Not commented |
| [158] | Not commented | Yes | 3G/4G/Wi-Fi | SMS | GPS location | GPS data | Android App |
| [159] | Not commented | Yes | 3G/4G/Wi-Fi | SMS, video call | GPS location | GPS data (locally stored in the SP) | 3G/4G cell phone |
| [160] | Small vibration of a watch | Yes | BT between the watch and the SP, 3G/4G/Wi-Fi to the RMU | Email, call or SMS (suggested) | Not commented | Not commented | Not commented |
| [161] | Acoustic and visual alarm | Yes | 3G/4G/Wi-Fi | Call and message to a Web server | Not commented | Not commented | Web interface in a server |
| [162] | Not commented | No | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [163] | Google Speech recognizer is launched | Yes | Mobile telephony | Voice Call | Not commented | Not commented | Phone |
| [164] | Acoustic alarm | Yes | Cell telephony | SMS, phone call | GPS location | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [165] | Acoustic and visual alarm | Yes | Cell telephony | SMS, phone call | GPS location | Acceleration data, GPS data, date | Cell phone |
| [167] | Acoustic alarm | Yes | Cell telephony | SMS | GPS location | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [168] | Vibration and acoustic alarm | No | Cell telephony | SMS | Not commented | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [169] | Not commented | No | No remote alert is sent | - | - | - | - |
| [170] | Vibrations | No | Cell telephony | SMS | Not commented | Not commented | Cell phone |
| [171] | Not commented | No | 3G/4G/Wi-Fi | Message to a PHP server | Unspecified User data | Not commented | Web page |
| [172] | Not commented | No (Feedback call from medical staff) | Cell telephony 3G/4G/Wi-Fi (assumed) to connect to a server |
Message to a remote server, SMS | Accelerometry data | Acceleration data, alarms | Web page |