Falls remain one of the leading causes of fatal and nonfatal injuries in many countries. Fall detection is an
important method to protect fallers by minimizing injury severity. There are some common limitations in
existing fall detection models. In particular, the fall indicators and detection thresholds were arbitrarily
predetermined without any theoretical and/or experimental basis, and most fall detection models cannot
address inter-individual differences. This study presents a novel pre-impact fall detection model based on
the statistical process control chart that is able to address the existing limitations. The fall indicators in
this model were selected based on experimental findings. The fall detection model is individual-specific,
since it is constructed using individual historical movement data. The fall detection model demonstrates
a high accuracy with up to 94.7% sensitivity and 99.2% specificity. In addition, this model can also provide
sufficient time for triggering fall protection device in the pre-impact phase, thus efficient in preventing
fall injuries.
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