Vox floor sensor in a care home resident room, discreet view at the foot of the bed, Healthcall installation

Resident safety

Fall detection for care homes: the Healthcall solution

Passive Vox floor sensors, optional accelerometer wristbands, anti-false-alert AI, geolocation and integration with nurse call. Independent Belgian integrator since 2017.

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What is Healthcall fall detection?

Healthcall fall detection is a resident safety module that immediately signals a fall in the room or in an equipped zone, without the resident having to wear a device or trigger a call. It primarily relies on passive Vox floor sensors (slabs or wall sensors), optionally complemented by accelerometer wristbands for mobile residents.

Algorithms differentiate a real fall from a voluntary squat by cross-checking impact dynamics, time on floor and immobility signature, which reduces false alerts without sacrificing sensitivity. Each event is geolocated to the room or zone, timestamped to the millisecond, then routed to the nearest carer on their smartphone or DECT phone — through the same channel as nurse call, with critical priority. Central supervision sees the alert in real time.

The module fits into the Healthcall modular ecosystem, published by Groovit since 2017. The architecture is open: third-party sensors are integrated via independent integrator partnership, with no vendor lock-in.

  • < 1 min

    Carer arrival

    median delay observed in equipped care homes

  • 868 MHz

    Dedicated wireless network

    no consumer Wi-Fi dependency

  • 2 days

    Installation

    60-to-100-bed care home, no operational shutdown

  • 0 camera

    0 microphone

    100% passive Vox sensors

For more: integration with nurse call · complete Healthcall ecosystem.

Six features, one coherent module

Fall detection is not a single technology but an assembly of sensors, algorithms and routing rules adapted to your building and resident profiles. Each feature can be activated according to your configuration.

  • Passive Vox floor sensors

    Slabs or wall sensors installed at the foot of the bed, in circulation zones and risk points (bathroom, window). No device to wear. No-trenching install, long-life cell, no operational shutdown.

  • Optional accelerometer wristbands

    For mobile residents. Combine vertical acceleration, tilt angle and post-event inactivity. Geolocated via BLE beacons shared with wandering prevention. Resident-by-resident choice.

  • Anti-false-alert algorithms

    Signal cross-checking: impact dynamics, time on floor, immobility signature. Configurable thresholds per profile. Continuous learning based on carer action logging on room arrival.

  • Precise geolocation

    Each fall geolocated to the room, zone (foot of bed, bathroom, corridor, garden). Critical information when the door is closed and the resident does not respond.

  • Native nurse call integration

    Same technical base (868 MHz, BLE, carer terminal, local server), same carer interface. A fall arrives on the smartphone or DECT like a nurse call, critical priority. No separate software to stack.

  • History for prevention

    Dashboard per room, time slot, resident profile, season. Cross-tabulation to identify risk zones and slots. PDF/CSV exports for AViQ, Zorginspectie, INAMI quality audits.

Passive Vox floor sensor at the foot of the bed — no device to wear, no camera, no microphone. Illustrative visual (client shoot to be produced).

From detection to intervention, no gesture required

The sequence follows Healthcall's founding triptych: detection, decision, action. Each step is automated, timestamped and traced, without resident or carer having to manually trigger the alert.

  1. Detection

    Sensor or wristband → qualified impact

    The Vox sensor perceives the impact or the wristband detects abnormal vertical acceleration. Transmission to local server via 868 MHz or BLE, millisecond timestamp. No image or sound captured. The algorithm filters out false positives.

  2. Decision

    Routing per configurable rules

    Who receives the alert (floor carer, night, reinforcement), on which device (smartphone, DECT, supervision), escalation delay. A night room fall immediately triggers supervision. A common-zone fall during the day rings first on the nearest smartphone or DECT.

  3. Action

    Carer on site + 3-sec action log

    Alert "fall room 24 — window side" on smartphone or DECT, priority ringtone, red signal lamp. One-button handover, other terminals silent. Automatic BLE presence detection. Action log on exit: confirmed fall, false alert, other.

Four scenarios observed in equipped care homes

The scenes below describe real situations. Durations are orders of magnitude measured in normal conditions; they vary according to your configuration.

Night fall in the room

2:47 am. Mr L., room 18, gets up to use the toilet and falls at the foot of the bed. He is disoriented and does not reach the call button. The Vox sensor perceives the impact, the algorithm confirms immobility on the floor beyond the threshold. Critical alert on the smartphone or DECT of the floor night carer, red signal lamp in front of room 18, simultaneous notification to central supervision. The carer arrives in 50 seconds, takes charge of the situation, calls reinforcement if needed. Action log “confirmed fall, no apparent injury” on exit. The event is traced for the morning handover and for the care plan.

Bathroom fall

10:15 am. Mrs R., room 12, slips coming out of the shower. The bathroom Vox sensor captures the fall, precise geolocation “room 12 — bathroom” appears on the floor carer’s smartphone or DECT. Valuable information: the bathroom door is closed, Mrs R. does not respond. The carer immediately knows where to head. Arrival in 40 seconds. The bathroom is a frequent fall point in care homes, particularly for autonomous residents whose falls are the quietest. The module’s history shows the director that room 12 concentrates several bathroom events over the quarter — non-slip mat adjustment.

Corridor fall on the floor

4:30 pm. Mr B., a mobile resident equipped with an accelerometer wristband, falls in the 2nd floor corridor coming back from the lounge. The wristband detects vertical acceleration and post-event immobility. The corridor 2 BLE beacon geolocates the event. Critical alert on the carer terminals of the two nearest carers. The nearest one arrives in 25 seconds. Detection works where Vox sensors are not installed — it is the complementarity between both technologies that enables full coverage.

Recurrence analysis for prevention

Quarter-end. The head nurse consults the Healthcall dashboard and generates the fall report: 17 events over 3 months, including 12 confirmed falls and 5 qualified false alerts. Distribution: 8 night falls between 2 am and 5 am, 6 daytime bathroom falls, 3 corridor falls. Two rooms concentrate 7 events alone, with resident profiles presenting particular fragility. The team adjusts: reinforced night lighting in those rooms, additional physiotherapy support, sensor repositioning in a room where a zone remained imperfectly covered. The report also serves as quality evidence for the following month’s AViQ inspection.

Smartphone receiving a geolocated fall alert — care home floor corridor. Illustrative visual (client shoot to be produced).

Fall detection does not stand alone

The module shares its technical base with the eleven other Healthcall ecosystem modules — 868 MHz wireless network, BLE beacons, smartphones or DECT, local server, central supervision. Activatable on an existing nurse call installation.

  • Nurse call

    Single channel to carers for all events — fall alerts, resident calls, emergency buttons. Same interface, same routing, same supervision.

  • Resident geolocation

    Shared BLE beacons. Fall detection leverages this infrastructure to precisely locate events triggered by accelerometer wristbands.

  • Central supervision

    Unified duty station: falls, calls, rounds, fire and intrusion alarms on a single screen with floor plan.

  • Wandering prevention

    Shared BLE wristbands for residents concerned by both risks, without multiplying wrist-worn devices.

To discover all modules: see the full ecosystem · compare to other market solutions.

Frequently asked questions

How does the system distinguish a real fall from a resident sitting on the floor on purpose?
By cross-checking signals and learning algorithms. A Vox floor sensor does not trigger on weight detection alone: it analyses impact dynamics (speed, contact surface, time on floor, absence of getting-up motion). A resident squatting to pick up an object, then standing back up in seconds, does not produce the same signature as a fall followed by immobility. For accelerometer wristbands, algorithms cross vertical acceleration, tilt angle and post-event inactivity. The trigger threshold is configurable per resident profile, which reduces false alerts while keeping sufficient sensitivity to real falls.
Does a resident voluntarily sitting on the floor trigger an alert?
Not systematically, and that is a deliberate choice. The system analyses time on floor and absence of motion. A resident who sits on the floor for a few seconds to handle an object or pet an animal does not trigger a critical alert. Conversely, prolonged immobility on the floor beyond a configurable threshold triggers a vigilance notification to the floor carer, who can check without mobilising the entire team. Your head nurses configure these thresholds room by room, according to the resident's known mobility. The logic is graduated: discreet vigilance, then alert if the situation persists.
How do residents accept the presence of sensors in their room?
Vox floor sensors are passive, with no device to wear, no camera, no microphone. They come as discreet slabs or wall sensors, in line with the flooring. No image, no sound is recorded. This discretion eases acceptance, including with residents usually reluctant to be equipped. Accelerometer wristbands remain optional and mainly concern mobile residents who leave their room or move through corridors. For operational acceptance, we recommend formal information of the resident and their family upfront, integrated into the admission contract.
What is the per-room cost of a fall detection installation?
Cost depends on the number of Vox sensors per room (one at the foot of the bed, or several in risk zones), the chosen technology (slabs, wall sensors, wristbands), and integration with existing nurse call. We carry out a free audit before quoting. Typical order of magnitude is between a few hundred euros and slightly more per equipped room for hardware, excluding installation and software licence. The quote is detailed line by line, no opaque package. Four major updates per year are included — no evolution surcharge.
Can fall detection be installed in an existing care home, without major works?
Yes. Wireless Vox sensors are placed on top of the flooring or under a thin carpet, powered by long-life cells. Wall sensors fix to the wall in a discreet enclosure. Accelerometer wristbands require no work on the building. Communication with the Healthcall server runs over our 868 MHz wireless network or existing Wi-Fi. No wall trenching, no slab drilling, no operational shutdown. A typical installation in a 60-to-100-bed care home takes two working days, like nurse call.
What are the fall reduction statistics with this type of solution?
Fall detection does not prevent falls themselves — it is a rapid response and a posteriori analysis system. Its main benefit is reducing the time between a fall and the resident's care on the floor, decreasing consequences (hypothermia, rhabdomyolysis, complications from prolonged immobility). The historical analysis of falls per room, per hour and per resident profile serves prevention by identifying risk zones and time slots. We only publish verifiable figures: comparative before/after measurements with our clients are being consolidated and will be released when representative.
Does fall detection replace nurse call?
No. It complements it. Nurse call covers all reasons for a call by the resident or carer. Fall detection covers events the resident cannot signal themselves — typically a fall preventing them from reaching the call button. Both modules share the same technical base (wireless network, BLE beacons, smartphones or DECT, local server, central supervision) and the same carer interface. A fall alert arrives on the smartphone or DECT like a nurse call, with critical priority and built-in geolocation. You can start with nurse call alone and add fall detection later, with no migration.
Are accelerometer wristbands mandatory?
No. They are optional and reserved for mobile residents for whom floor sensors are insufficient — typically those who leave their room often, walk in corridors or go to the garden. For very mobility-restricted residents who stay mainly in their room or in a Vox-equipped zone, the wristband adds no value. Choice is made resident by resident, in consultation with the head nurse and according to the individual care plan. We impose no standard equipment profile.

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