Falls and Nursing Workload in Hospitalized Older Adults With Delirium: A Controlled Trial of 3D‐Radar‐Based Bed‐Exit Monitoring Versus Contact Mat
- 1University Department of Geriatric Medicine Felix Platter Basel Switzerland
- 2University of Basel Basel Switzerland
Abstract
Background: Reported in‐hospital fall rates largely rely on subjective incident reporting, and objective verification is rarely used. Evidence on the effectiveness of bed‐exit monitoring systems in patients with delirium is limited, and prospective data on digital contactless systems that do not rely on video‐based monitoring are lacking.
Methods: This prospective, monocentric, non‐randomized controlled study was conducted on a specialized delirium care unit. Analogue bed‐exit monitoring using a contact mat (CareMat) in front of the bed was compared with a digital contactless 3D‐radar bed‐exit monitoring system (QUMEA), which does not generate or record video data. Patients aged ≥ 65 years with delirium were allocated by room availability to analogue or digital bed‐exit surveillance. Bed‐exit‐related falls, daily bed‐exit warnings and nurse presence time were analyzed. Falls were identified using institutional records, electronic health records and system logs. For research purposes only, event‐triggered thermal camera recordings were used for objective fall verification.
Results: In 119 patients contributing 1799 patient days, bed‐exit‐related fall rates were 22.6 per 1000 patient days with CareMat and 11.5 with QUMEA adjusted OR, 3.76 (95% CI, 1.25–11.27). The analogue CareMat device generated more bed‐exit warnings adjusted OR, 1.89 (95% CI, 1.41–2.53) and longer nurse presence times adjusted OR, 1.60 (95% CI, 1.21–2.11).
Conclusions: Under conditions of objective fall verification independent of the bed‐exit monitoring systems, digital contactless 3D‐radar bed‐exit monitoring was associated with lower bed‐exit‐related fall rates and reduced nursing workload compared with an analogue contact mat.
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BibTeX
@article{eichenbrenner2026falls,
title = {{Falls and Nursing Workload in Hospitalized Older Adults With Delirium: A Controlled Trial of 3D‐Radar‐Based Bed‐Exit Monitoring Versus Contact Mat}},
author = {Tamara Eichenbrenner and Isabella Glaser and Kris Denhaerynck and Vanessa Vater and Diana Fritsch and Valerie Götz and Andreas Fischer and Manuela Pretto and Reto W. Kressig and Wolfgang Hasemann},
journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1111/jgs.70635},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.70635},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Falls and Nursing Workload in Hospitalized Older Adults With Delirium: A Controlled Trial of 3D‐Radar‐Based Bed‐Exit Monitoring Versus Contact Mat
AU - Tamara Eichenbrenner
AU - Isabella Glaser
AU - Kris Denhaerynck
AU - Vanessa Vater
AU - Diana Fritsch
AU - Valerie Götz
AU - Andreas Fischer
AU - Manuela Pretto
AU - Reto W. Kressig
AU - Wolfgang Hasemann
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/31
JO - Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
DO - 10.1111/jgs.70635
UR - https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.70635
AB - Background: Reported in‐hospital fall rates largely rely on subjective incident reporting, and objective verification is rarely used. Evidence on the effectiveness of bed‐exit monitoring systems in patients with delirium is limited, and prospective data on digital contactless systems that do not rely on video‐based monitoring are lacking. Methods: This prospective, monocentric, non‐randomized controlled study was conducted on a specialized delirium care unit. Analogue bed‐exit monitoring using a contact mat (CareMat) in front of the bed was compared with a digital contactless 3D‐radar bed‐exit monitoring system (QUMEA), which does not generate or record video data. Patients aged ≥ 65 years with delirium were allocated by room availability to analogue or digital bed‐exit surveillance. Bed‐exit‐related falls, daily bed‐exit warnings and nurse presence time were analyzed. Falls were identified using institutional records, electronic health records and system logs. For research purposes only, event‐triggered thermal camera recordings were used for objective fall verification. Results: In 119 patients contributing 1799 patient days, bed‐exit‐related fall rates were 22.6 per 1000 patient days with CareMat and 11.5 with QUMEA adjusted OR, 3.76 (95% CI, 1.25–11.27). The analogue CareMat device generated more bed‐exit warnings adjusted OR, 1.89 (95% CI, 1.41–2.53) and longer nurse presence times adjusted OR, 1.60 (95% CI, 1.21–2.11). Conclusions: Under conditions of objective fall verification independent of the bed‐exit monitoring systems, digital contactless 3D‐radar bed‐exit monitoring was associated with lower bed‐exit‐related fall rates and reduced nursing workload compared with an analogue contact mat.
SN - 0002-8614
SN - 1532-5415
ER -