BedDot can alert loved ones and caregivers to falls and other emergencies, reports UGAToday.

Researchers in the University of Georgia College of Engineering have developed a smart sensing device designed to improve care for the elderly by providing real-time safety and health monitoring during sleep.

BedDot is a contact-free sensor system that continuously monitors a person’s sleep patterns and vital signs – and generates real-time alerts to loved ones or caregivers when urgent changes occur, such as falls from bed. BedDot is the first device to detect heart rate, respiration rate, sleep movements, sleep posture, and falls using only vibration sensing, according to the researchers.

“BedDot will help seniors by improving the quality of their health care, whether they live in their own homes or in assisted-living facilities,” said WenZhan Song, the Georgia Power Mickey A. Brown Professor in the College of Engineering.

news.uga.edu