OneStep Digital Physical Therapy
Saving Lives Through Fall Prevention
With one in four older people falling each year, effective preventative measures are crucial for their safety. In August 2022, OneStep launched its fall risk detection capabilities, which harnesses innovative motion technology to detect and prevent falls, ultimately saving lives. The app turns the patient’s smartphone into a clinical-grade motion lab, collecting gait measurements while they walk, with no need for wearables. If the collected gait measurements indicate a pattern associated with an increased fall risk, the app alerts the patient’s care providers immediately. This real-time monitoring of patients’ gait enables physical therapists to detect fall risks early and intervene promptly.
Previously, gait speed was one of the only factors assessed to determine if someone was a fall risk, but OneStep enables a multifactorial assessment with gait variability to make a more accurate determination of risk—and data collection is more accurate since a person’s movement is assessed in real life, over time, and not just in a clinic or lab.
OneStep is also aiming to make care more accessible and affordable to empower people to live healthier, pain-free lives. For example, in December 2022 the company announced a new partnership with Protez Foundation that is helping Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who have lost limbs in the war to receive stronger prosthetic care delivery through OneStep. By enabling Protez Foundation clinicians to easily stay connected with their patients and get a 360-degree view of their movement from thousands of miles away, clinicians can easily determine if and how a patient’s treatment plans should be adjusted.
