What is FallScreen©?

NeuRA FallScreen© is a fall risk assessment tool available in both short and long forms. The short form is designed for use in General Practice, rural nursing, and Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and specialist Falls Clinics. It takes 15 minutes to administer and contains five items: assessments of vision, peripheral sensation, lower limb strength, reaction time and body sway.

The long form provides a more comprehensive assessment for settings that can provide a detailed evaluation, and is also suitable for research and teaching settings. It takes 45 minutes to administer and contains 15 items: three assessments of vision (high and low contrast visual acuity and edge contrast sensitivity), two assessments of peripheral sensation (tactile sensitivity and proprioception), three assessments of three lower limb muscle groups (knee extensors, knee flexors and ankle dorsiflexors), assessments of hand and foot reaction time, four assessments of body sway (sway on floor and foam with eyes open and closed), and two assessments of dynamic leaning balance.

NeuRA FallScreen® assessments have been provided to over 150 research and clinical settings within Australia and across the world, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Korea, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, USA and UK.

Fallscreen Costs

Short version: $4,000 (excl. GST). Delivery cost upon request.

Long version: $8,000 (excl. GST). Delivery cost upon request.

Click here to download an article on the Physiological Profile Assessment

The physiological assessments

Visual function is measured using a dual contrast visual acuity chart, the "Melbourne Edge Test" and a device for measuring depth perception. Lower limb sensation is assessed with tests of proprioception and touch sensitivity. The strength of three muscle groups in both legs is measured: the knee flexors and extensors and ankle dorsiflexors. Simple reaction time is assessed using movement of the finger as the response, and choice reaction time is assessed using a step as the response. Body sway on a firm and compliant (foam rubber) surface with eyes open is assessed using a swaymeter that measures displacements of the body at the level of the waist. The swaymeter is also used to measure two tests of leaning balance (maximal balance range and coordinated stability).

These assessments are simple, 'low-tech' and readily accepted by older subjects. All have high external validity and test-retest reliability and are described in detail in our published papers (1-8). When combined in multivariate discriminant analyses, these tests can predict those at risk of falling with 75% accuracy in both community and institutional settings.

You can view some short form tests here.

Click here for more information on the long form physiological test battery.

The FallScreen© digital program

For both the short and long forms, a computer software program assess each person’s performance in relation to the normative database complied from large population studies (6,7). The program produces a falls risk assessment report for each subject which includes the following four components:

• a graph indicating the person’s overall falls risk score,
• a profile of individual test performance results,
• a table indicting individual test performances in relation to age-matched norms,
• a written report which explains the results and makes recommendations for improving performances and compensating for any deficit areas identified.

The graph indicating the person’s overall falls risk score is a single index score based on a discriminant function analysis developed for our research studies which accurately discriminates between elderly fallers and non-fallers. This graph presented the person’s falls risk score in relation to persons of the same age and in relation to falls risk criteria ranging from low to extreme.

The profile of test performance results presents the subject’s scores in each of the tests in standard (z score) format. As the scores have been standardised the test results can be compared with each other. The table indicting individual test performances in relation to age-matched norms also identifies deficit areas.

Finally, the written report summarises the findings and makes individual recommendations for reducing falls risk. It provides an excellent basis for targeting interventions to improve or compensate for impairments in the following physiological domains: strength, balance, speed and co-ordination, vision, peripheral sensation and therefore reduce the risk of falling in older people.

Click here to log into the Fallscreen© website

NB: By accessing this software, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to the Terms of Sale and Licence Agreement accompanying this software.

How to obtain a license to use FallScreen©

For information about obtaining the test devices, instructor training and internet access to FallScreen©, email: fallscreen@neura.edu.au. Click here for more details about falls assessment kits.

Registered users click here to access the previous Fallscreen© website

References

1. Lord SR, Menz HB, Tiedemann A. A physiological profile approach to falls risk assessment and prevention. Physical Therapy 2003;83:237-252.
2. Whitney J, Lord SR, Close JCT. Streamlining Assessment and Intervention in a Falls Clinic using the Timed Up and Go and Physiological Profile Assessments. Age and Ageing 2005;34:567-571.
3. Szabo SM, Janssen PA, Khan K, Potter MJ, Lord SR. Older women with age-related macular degeneration have an increased risk of falls: a physiological profile assessment (PPA) study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2008;56:800-807.
4. Sturnieks DL, Lord SR. Validity and reliability of the Swaymeter device for measuring postural sway. BMC Geriatrics 2011;11:63.
5. Sampaio NR, Rosa NMDB, Godoy APS, Pereira DS, Hicks C, Lord SR, Pereira LSM. Reliability evaluation of the physiological profile assessment to assess fall risk in older people. J Gerontol Geriat Res 2014;3: 179; doi: 10.4172/2167-7182.1000179.
6. Siong K-H, Kwan MM-S, Lord SR, Lam AK-C, Tsang WW-N, Cheong AM-Y. Fall risk in Chinese community-dwelling older adults: A physiological profile assessment study. Geriatrics & Gerontology International 2016;16:259-265.
7. Hoang P, Meryem Baysan M, Gunn H, Cameron M, Freeman J, Nitz J, Low Choy N, Lord SR. Fall risk in people with MS: a physiological profile assessment study. Multiple Sclerosis Journal: Experimental, Translational and Clinical 2016;2:1-10.
8. Lord SR, Delbaere K, Gandevia SC. Use of a physiological profile to document motor impairment in ageing and in clinical groups. Journal of Physiology 2016;594:4513-4523.