OneStep, an app-based physical therapy service, has expanded its technology to include fall risk detection capabilities.

The company leverages smartphone sensors to continuously analyse walking and functional movement and provide lab-level gait analysis.

Patrick Tarnowski, Chief Commercial Officer at OneStep, commented in an interview that gait is a key health indicator, and monitoring it can prevent future health problems, such as falls. "We know that gait speed, which has been dubbed the sixth vital sign, is able to track how a patient is doing over time.”

When there is a decrease in gait speed, or an increase in gait variability, it likely indicates an impairment that should be addressed for mobility, safety, and overall wellness.

Through OneStep, providers alerted of a trend that may indicate increased probability of falls can take immediate action to correct gait impairments, provide assistive devices, and put in place fall safety education before a medical event occurs.

"We can tell the provider through the dashboard about changes in Ms Jones and indicate that she is likely to fall very soon," Tarnowski said. "We can reach out through the OneStep platform and deploy one of your clinicians to see her in her home. It's exciting for providers because they can move upstream in their care continuum. It's not just being reactive to a fall. The technology doesn’t just notify someone when a fall has occurred, but looks at trends that she is going to fall."