Preventing senior falls with Arqaios’ embedded, privacy-first smart fixtures
An ounce of prevention is worth more than a thousand incident reports. Falls are the leading cause of injury for older adults in the United States, with roughly 1 in 4 people 65 and over reporting a fall each year. In 2023 alone, more than 41,000 older Americans died from falls, and emergency departments recorded nearly 3 million visits in 2021. The human cost is profound, and the financial cost is soaring toward a projected 101 billion dollars by 2030.
Arqaios is building environments that actively lower risk. Our sensing is embedded in everyday infrastructure, like outlets, switches, and vents, so the space can quietly adapt in real time. We use privacy-preserving point cloud data from non-imaging sensors to understand motion and posture, without cameras, wearables, or invasive tech.
A meaningful share of falls occur around toileting, and many of those happen at night. Low illuminance and frequent trips due to nocturia increase risk. Arqaios detects bed- or chair-exit intent, then brings up a low-glare path light from bed to bath, adjusts levels room by room, and dims again once the resident is safely back. Research shows that automated guiding light reduces nighttime fear of falling and supports steadier movement, which together can lower risk.
Our fixtures generate point clouds, not pictures. The system interprets clusters of points to recognize human presence, standing, sitting, turns, or a rapid descent consistent with a fall. This modality avoids the privacy issues of cameras and the compliance burden of wearables, while published studies continue to validate radar and point-cloud methods for fall detection and gait measurement. We don't detect what a person is doing as we take privacy very seriously. We detect where a person is in the space and if they are walking, running, sitting or laying down and of course, if they have fallen.
Gait is one of the strongest predictors of fall risk. Slowing walking speed over time and increased stride or swing-time variability are linked with higher odds of falling. Clinical guidance often flags people with gait speed below about 0.8 to 1.0 meters per second for targeted prevention. Arqaios passively measures gait speed, cadence, turn duration, and variability in the background, then trends each resident against their own baseline. When a gait score drops below a configurable threshold, the system notifies caregivers so a wellness plan can be put in place, for example a PT consult, strength and balance exercises, medication review, or layout changes.
Because Arqaios lives inside the infrastructure, it can respond in the moment and coordinate the room.
We prioritize clear, actionable information.
Arqaios helps care teams move from reactive to proactive. The space notices when someone begins to rise, lights the path, and calls for help if needed. It watches gait trends quietly over weeks to catch small changes early. It protects dignity by never using cameras or requiring residents to wear devices. The goal is fewer incidents, faster assistance, and earlier, more personalized prevention plans, all with the privacy that seniors and families expect. CDC
If you support seniors at home, in assisted living, or in skilled care, we would love to show you how an embedded, privacy-first environment can keep people safer without getting in their way.