Former Israeli Air Force pilot invents device to save senior's hips

Every year, nearly 3 million seniors across the world are hospitalized by hip fractures. These poor seniors see their lives changed in a single, traumatic moment. Many go from active and independent to helpless and stationary in the blink of an eye. Through expensive surgery and invasive procedures, some may recover - but many never reclaim the mobility or freedom they once hand. For most of the afflicted, it is an injury that spells the end of happiness. The snap that precipitates a sudden decline in joy and quality of life.

This is exactly what happened to former Israeli Air Force pilot Amatisa Rannan's mother. Not once, but twice, his mother had to endure the pain of a fractured hip. While she recovered from her first break, the burden of a second injury was too much to bear and she slowly succumbed, spending her last days in a wheelchair. It was this pain that convinced Rannan that something had to be done.

An industrial engineer with a background in aviation, Rannan understood that prevention is always superior to repair. When you're in a jet skimming over the desert at mach one, you can't just pull over and pop the engine open if something doesn't seem right. You need to be prepared, equipped, and have your emergency devices ready to go before you need them, not after.

Hence the design behind the Hip-Hope, a wearable device designed to prevent the catastrophic hip injuries associated with a senior fall. 

At first glance, the Hip-Hope seems slightly comical. The belt, made of nylon and plastic, looks somewhere between Batman's utility belt and a fanny pack. A seat-belt that you wear while walking about. But, the technology behind what it does is nothing to giggle at. A high-tech multi-sensor detection system can tell when a person wearing it is on their way to the floor and deploy hip-saving airbags just before they hit the ground, reducing ground impact by 90%. 

It turns a near-certain calamity into a slightly goofy looking tumble. What's more, an automated smartphone app inside the device will send an alert message to pre-selected family members or neighbors, letting them know their loved one needs a hand.

Rannan isn't content to stop there either. Plans for future versions of the device include monitoring and predictive data analysis. Essentially, the device would monitor certain vital signs and health indicators like heart rate, sweat, walking speed, balance, and so on. When those signs start to show an increase in fall risk, the device will notify the wearer and family through the app, encouraging them to take a moment to sit or seek medical treatment.

This isn't just fantasy either. Medical professionals are taking notice of the Hip-Hope. It won the Innovation Award at the March 2015 MEDinISRAEL international conference, is being actively tested in Canada, and awaits approval under the FDA in the US and CE in Europe.

Anyone with a family member who has suffered from a hip fracture can tell you, its an absolute nightmare. Aside from the sheer pain of the event, the loss of independence and dignity is often the start of a sad decline for our elderly loved ones, a pain that weights over the entire family.

If the Hip-Hope can help at-risk seniors avoid this fate and maintain an active, enjoyable, and confident lifestyle long into their golden years, it will be something worth celebrating.