CatchU: A Quantitative Multisensory Falls-Assessment Study

Summary

The ability to successfully integrate information across sensory systems is a vital aspect of functioning in the real world. To date, only a few studies have investigated the clinical translational value of multisensory integration processes. Previous work has linked the magnitude of visual-somatosensory integration (measured behaviorally using simple reaction time tasks) to important cognitive (attention) and motor (balance, gait, and falls) outcomes in healthy older adults. While multisensory integration effects have been measured across a wide array of populations using various sensory combinations and different neuroscience approaches, a gold standard for quantifying multisensory integration has been lacking. The investigator recently developed a step-by-step protocol for administering and calculating multisensory integration effects in an effort to facilitate innovative and novel translational research across diverse clinical populations and age-ranges. However, patients with severe medical conditions and/or mobility limitations often experience difficulty traveling to research facilities or joining time-demanding research protocols. Using the aforementioned protocol, the study team invented a mobile multisensory falls-assessment iPhone app called CatchU to facilitate physician discussion and counseling of falls in older adults during clinical visits (e.g., annual wellness visits with a subsequent telehealth call), in an attempt to alleviate disability, promote independence, and increase quality of life for older adults. The investigator team has provided a cross-sectional research proposal for a pilot study of 300 patients (over a 24-month period) in order to demonstrate acceptable-to-excellent predicative accuracy of CatchU for identifying older adults at-risk for falls.

Conditions

• Fall Injury
• Age Problem
• Well Aging
• Sensory Disorders

Interventions

OTHER

CatchU Intervention

The CatchU Intervention arm will receive individualized recommendations (adapted from the CDC STEADI program) as outlined on the CatchU physician report sent to the participants physicians. These recommendations in combination with falls intervention referrals and falls counseling tips will be monitored and statistical investigation of the impact of CatchU intervention in preventing future falls will be determined.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Burke Rehabilitation Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Montefiore Medical Center

  collaborator OTHER

• Jet Worldwide Enterprises Incorporated

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Albert Einstein College of Medicine

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jeannette R Mahoney, PhD · Albert Einstein College of Medicine

• Mooyeon Oh-Park, MD · The Burke Rehabilitation Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-10-13

Primary Completion

2026-07-31

Completion

2026-07-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations