Kepler Vision and Hikvision jointly launch smart solutions for elderly care

Kepler Vision recently announced that it has partnered with video security system provider Hikvision to develop Kepler Vision smart sensors to enable caregivers to better monitor the health of elderly patients in nursing home environments.

Kepler Vision Smart Sensor

The software solution integrates with the computer vision-driven Kepler Night Nurse sensor software, which can convert monitored video feeds into text messages to alert staff when needed. For example, a video alert of an elderly resident falling to the floor would be indicated by a message “In room 13, a person has fallen” – transmitted to the nurse via the nurse call system. The video feed itself does not need to be sent or viewed by the nurse, ensuring client privacy and eliminating the need for constant monitoring of cameras.

By using deep learning and computer vision, Kepler Night Nurse can detect when elderly patients fall, when they are in physical distress, and when patients with dementia wander into areas they shouldn’t be in — automatically alerting staff when these patients need help. The software replaces older sensor systems such as mattresses, motion sensors, and wearables like necklaces and bracelets, enabling staff to respond to patients immediately and eliminating 99% of false alarms.

There are two versions of the Kepler Vision Smart Sensor available for use in nursing homes. A 6 MP camera for private rooms and a 12 MP version for monitoring common rooms and corridors. These new devices shorten the calibration cycle of the Kepler Night Nurse and reduce the set-up costs of the entire system. While the quality of the Kepler Vision Smart Sensor ensures a high level of operability for the Kepler Night Nurse, the solution can still be used with any existing camera system in a nursing facility.

Harro Stokman, CEO of Kepler Vision and Marc van den Heuvel of Hikvision

Dr. Harro Stokman, CEO of Kepler Vision, said, “We are very excited about the increased efficiency and accuracy that the new Kepler Vision smart sensors will bring to caregivers who are looking after the well-being of their elderly patients. The combination of the Kepler Night Nurse solution with these sensors eliminates the need to pilot test the system in a care setting, significantly reduces the setup costs of the entire monitoring solution, and maximizes the reliability and accuracy of our cutting-edge computer vision solution. Given the current state of the nursing home industry, we are proud to reduce the stress on caregivers by enabling them to more effectively manage care without sacrificing patient privacy.”

Marc van der Heuvel, Head of Business Development Europe at Hikvision Benelux, said: “We are delighted to deepen our partnership with Kepler Vision by collaborating on a new range of sensors. Kepler’s work in creating the Kepler Night Nurse solution has the potential to revolutionise patient monitoring in elderly care globally, and we are delighted that our cutting-edge camera technology will enable Kepler to realise the full potential of its computer vision and do so in a way that benefits both caregivers and patients.”

The launch of the Kepler Vision Smart Sensor is an important part of the Kepler Vision full-stack solution. This includes the computing hardware in the Kepler Edge Appliance, the Kepler Vision Smart Sensor, and of course the software itself in the form of Kepler Night Nurse, which is constantly improving and adding more capabilities for a variety of care facilities.

The Kepler Night Nurse solution is the world’s first computer vision-based fall detector to receive medical device approval. Its computer vision-driven software has been formally registered as a medical device in accordance with European Council Directive 93/42/EEC. Registration means that the software has been tested both internally and in the field to meet the highest specifications, that a risk assessment has been performed, and that mitigation measures have been implemented.