Falls are a major concern for older adults residing in care homes, where more than 50% of them fall at least once per year. Our previous research found that over 33% of falls in care homes involved an impact to the head. Meanwhile, our research also revealed a strong association between head impact and mortality in older adults in care homes. Particularly, people who experienced head impacts had a 50% higher risk of death than those who never experienced a head impact. On the other hand, many falls are unwitnessed and most older adults in care homes have cognitive impairment, which may under-estimate the actual occurrence of head impacts in this setting. Thus, there is an urgent need to reduce the severity of head impact during falls in frail older adults, so as to prevent TBIs and head injury-related mortality in this population.

Protective headgear is a low-cost and effective solution in mitigating fall-related head injuries in care homes. Headgears for the elderly were initially developed in the western countries such as Canada and Sweden. However, existing headgears are generally bulky with thick foams inserted inside the hats, which makes the headgears impermeable and less aesthetic. To address these issues, we will apply a novel 3D-printing technique to mass customize the headgear based on the 3D-scanned head profiles of Asian older adults. The customized pads will be inserted into the typical hats worn by older adults. Currently, the prototype of headgear has been developed in our laboratory and demonstrated lightweight and breathable features. The pads have also gone through biomechanical tests and showed high capability of impact force attenuation. In this project, we will further refine the 3D-printed headgear and evaluate its user compliance at local care homes.

This project is well aligned with “Disease Prevention and Management, Innovative Biomedicine, and Sustainability” of the CUHK’s Strategic Areas. Its social impact is three-fold:(1) The project will guide head injury prevention for frail older adults, via the novel 3D-printed headgear.(2) Our efforts will eventually lead to an improvement of older adults’ quality of life due to the decreased rates of head injury. Older adults will be more confident when performing activities of daily living.(3) The success of this project will guide the implementation of protective headgears in other regions to benefit more older adults worldwide.

• 120 Older adults in care homes (Primary beneficiaries)


• 40 Caregivers at care homes (Secondary beneficiaries)


• 10 care homes

2025

Healthcare, HealthTech, Well-being