Researchers at the University of Surrey are designing a new type of flooring that could help prevent serious injuries when someone falls.Resembling standard synthetic tiles or rubber flooring, the flooring would remain firm during normal use. But when someone falls, the smart materials and systems hidden beneath would allow the flooring to soften and cushion the impact, reducing the risk of broken bones and head injuries.If successful, the flooring could help ease pressure on England’s National Health Service (NHS), and reshape the design of hospitals, care homes and residential settings where the elderly are most at risk.Every year in the United Kingdom, hundreds of thousands of older adults experience a fall, many of which lead to lengthy hospital stays and some fatalities. In 2023/2024, there were 219,000 fall-related emergency hospital admissions among people aged 65 and over.Government figures show that unaddressed fall hazards in the home alone cost the NHS around $435 million pounds annually, while fragility fractures — often caused by falls — cost the U.K. an estimated $4.4 billion pounds each year, including $1.1 billion pounds in social care.“We’re investigating how different flooring types affect balance, with the goal of supporting the design of safer, smarter surfaces in various settings,” says Silas Purja, postgraduate researcher at the university’s school of engineering and lead researcher in the trial.The research team is currently seeking healthy adult volunteers of all ages, particularly those aged 65 and over, to participate in the study.The current phase of the trial involves testing different age groups on their ability to stand and walk on various floor conditions in a controlled indoor environment at the university. Participants wear reflective body markers that are tracked by infrared cameras, allowing researchers to measure how different floor materials — ranging from soft to hard — affect a person’s balance, movement and stability. Researchers can then analyze how different levels of stiffness affect participants’ natural balance. The findings will inform the design of the protective flooring.The study is part of the wider Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council-funded project, Multifunctional Flooring: Design for Independent Living, led by Dr. Iman Mohagheghian. The project brings together an interdisciplinary team of researchers from University of Surrey and University of Portsmouth.The research team is working closely with commercial partners and manufacturers of flooring for healthcare settings and advanced sensor and touch technologies. Together they aim to develop an integrated flooring solution that provides passive fall prevention, real-time fall detection and impact protection in one. (ICE TORONTO)

Fonte notizia: Covering, Canada's Floor Covering Magazine