Abstract:

Significance With the acceleration of population aging, falls among the elderly have become a major public health concern, often resulting in disability or death. Epidemiological studies show that 30%-50% of older adults fall each year, with 5%-10% suffering serious injuries such as fractures or head trauma. Over 95% of hip fractures are caused by falls, posing serious threats to elderly health and independence. Conventional fall prevention approaches, like environmental modifications or exercise, are pre-emptive and provide limited protection during actual falls. Thus, developing smart wearable products with real-time sensing and active protection capabilities is vital to reduce fall-related injuries. +++Progress Early fall protection products, such as hip pads, offer limited protection due to their restricted coverage, discomfort, and poor appearance, resulting in low user compliance. In recent years, the rapid development of smart wearable technology has greatly promoted the research and development and application of smart fall protection clothing. Intelligent fall protection systems usually consist of two core parts, namely, intelligent monitoring module and active protection module. The system collects the user's motion status data in real time via sensors, and uses the threshold method or machine learning algorithms to identify falls quickly and accurately. When the system detects a fall, the control module immediately commands the airbag inflator to rapidly deploy the protective structure to protect high-risk areas such as the head, hip, and spine before the human body touches the ground, effectively reducing the risk of injury. In addition, some studies have integrated wireless communication modules into the system, which automatically sends alarm information to caregivers or medical terminals when the fall is triggered, thus realising timely positioning and rescue interventions after the fall. Currently, intelligent fall protection products based on airbags have been widely used in high-risk sports, but wearable protection products for the daily life of the elderly are still at an early stage of research and development, and need to be further optimised and improved in terms of comfort, maturity and stability. +++Conclusion and Prospect Intelligent fall injury protection clothing has shown significant advantages in real-time monitoring, efficient protection and good wearing experience in dealing with the risk of falling in the elderly, which has broad research value and application potential. Based on the current research status and future trends, the further development of intelligent fall injury protection clothing should focus on the following aspects. For intelligent recognition and algorithm optimization, multimodal sensor data and deep learning are incorporated to enhance fall detection accuracy and adaptability to complex real-world conditions. In system integration and module miniaturization, flexible electronics and textile circuits are promoted to achieve embedded and invisible designs that enhance wearability, reduce weight, and improve device reliability. In achieving lightweight materials and flexible structure, high-strength, lightweight airbag materials are developed and fabric structures and coatings are optimized to enhance pressure resistance and comfort. Structural innovations, such as foldable or hollow support designs, can improve conformity to the body while reducing overall weight. In the case of age-friendly design and wearing experience, tailored designs are carried out for elderly users by focusing on loose fits, ease of wearing, intuitive interfaces, and soft, skin-friendly materials. These adaptations aim to increase acceptance, safety, and everyday usability. In terms of multifunctional expansion and intelligent linkage, features are extended beyond fall protection by integrating heart rate, blood oxygen, and respiration monitoring. Combining positioning and communication modules enables automatic alerts and remote response. Linkage with intelligent household systems and elderly care platforms will help build multi-level safety networks and improve home care services. With continued advancements in cross-disciplinary innovation, intelligent airbag-based protection clothing is expected to become a practical and efficient solution to the increasing fall risk faced by aging populations.

Key words: fall in the elderly, intelligent clothing, protection clothing, airbag protection system, wearable sensor, fall detection algorithm