How Canon’s Video Surveillance and Analytics Solutions can reduce the burden on elderly care workers
The shortage of manpower in the elder care sector is a challenge that’s only going to worsen with Singapore’s rapidly ageing population. Video surveillance and advanced AI analytics solutions can help.
Falls in older adults present a real risk. In Singapore, about one-third of older adults aged 60 and above have fallen more than once. Falls alone account for almost 85% of all geriatric trauma cases in emergency departments — and is the leading cause of injury among older adults here.
Care workers in nursing homes and long-term care facilities are well aware of this risk. But there’s a challenge. Falls can happen any time, anywhere. It's nearly impossible for care workers to watch over every one of their residents 24/7. Not especially when they’re overstretched and overworked in the face of a perennial manpower shortage in the industry.
Enter: Canon’s suite of elder care focused Video Surveillance and Analytics Solutions
At Canon, we recognise these challenges. Which is why we’ve collaborated with several technology partners, and our sister company, Milestone, to develop a suite of elder care focused solutions. We want to use our expertise in digital imaging, video surveillance and AI analytics to alleviate the burden on our care workers.
Here are some ways our solutions can assist your care workers, and give them the extra pairs of eyes that they very much need:1.
1. They give existing surveillance cameras an intelligent power-up
Our solutions are designed to work with existing surveillance cameras that are already on your property.
That means no new hardware is needed. Once deployed, the Milestone Systems' XProtect® plug-in will help your cameras make sense of what they’re seeing, converting them from passive surveillance cameras to intelligent round the clock security.
Real-time mobile notifications when an incident is detected.
If an incident is detected (be it a fall, an intrusion or an emergency), care workers or administrators will be notified immediately via a mobile app — along with applicable video footage of the incident. So they can render the appropriate help, or plan the next course of action without losing any precious time.
2. Protect privacy with Canon’s Moving Object Mask
Canon’s Moving Object Mask in action.
No one enjoys being caught on camera — not especially when you’re at your most vulnerable. We understand that. Which is why we’ve equipped our solution with a proprietary Moving Object Mask. When applied, it automatically obscures the identity of the individual, so what we see on-screen will be a masked silhouette instead of an actual person.
3. We detect what we cannot see with LiDAR and sound recognition technology
Non-visual detection with LiDAR sensors and sound recognition technology.
Not all falls happen in places where visual surveillance is available. In private areas like toilets and bathrooms, we use LiDAR and sound recognition technology to ‘see’ through light and sound wave analysis. That way, residents and patients can be protected no matter where they are — while still maintaining their privacy.
4. Stop intrusion and abscondment with face recognition technology
Preventing abscondment cases by identifying unescorted in-house residents with face recognition technology.
Some older adults have a tendency to wander out of nursing homes and care facilities on their own. We prevent that by using advanced face recognition technology to quickly identify any unescorted individual — with or without a mask — and notify care workers immediately.
We also rely on face recognition to detect possible intrusions by singling out unidentified persons, or stop unapproved individuals from entering restricted zones at specific timings. In all cases, care workers or administrators will be promptly notified so action can be taken immediately.
5. Occupancy information and emergency response with AI video analytics
What your surveillance cameras see on a daily basis is an integral source of information. Advanced AI video analytics can make good sense of that.
Access occupancy information easily without having to do a manual head count.
Occupancy information, for one, can easily be accessed with the Milestone Systems' XProtect® plug-in, making it easy for administrators to monitor occupancy and exercise crowd control whenever necessary.
The algorithms are also trained to identify emergency situations like smoke and fire. In case of such events, emergency response notifications will be triggered to prompt immediate action from all staff on the property.
Into the future of elder care
The problem of manpower shortage in the elder care industry is only going to worsen as Singapore’s population rapidly ages. To provide adequate care and support for our elders in the future, we have to lay the foundation of a smarter and more intelligent elder care system today.
For more information on how Canon’s suite of video surveillance and analytics solutions can transform your care facility, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Note: We thank St Luke’s ElderCare for lending us their premise for the filming of this video!
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