New retirement living communities may be designed to incorporate a product that its inventors hope will reduce the impact of elderly people falling – literally.
A new floor tile may improve the outcomes of unstable seniors who fall by transitioning from a rigid surface to a more pliable one during sudden impacts, according to Sorbashock officials.
They say that the ability of the tile to cushion seniors who fall will lessen the number of hospital stays and medical costs associated with the elderly, including bone fractures.
More specifically, "the benefit of the technology is that it retains its solid feel and remains stable during normal activities," said Sorbashock president Sam Simonson.
"However, when a fall occurs, the floor is designed to cushion the body at acute points and can absorb a significant amount of the impact."
Although one retirement living community has already said it will incorporate the floor tiles into its residences, the benefits of reducing falls is more wide-ranging according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control.
The government agency says that one in three Americans over the age of 65 suffer a fall each year, resulting in $19 billion in healthcare costs.
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