Almost 10,000 Norwegians suffer hip fractures every year, many of them occurring in the winter. These injuries take a heavy toll in terms of costs, time and long-term health affects.

Every year about 30 percent of all people over age 65 experience a fall. “The costs of treatment, rehabilitation and nursing home services amount to between 1.5 and 2.5 billion a year,” says Tore Christian Storholmen, a researcher and product designer at Sintef. Also, as many as 25 percent of elderly people who suffer hip fractures die within a year of their injuries.

To help address this, Sintef and Protex, a company from Ålen, have created the HiP hip protector. The device looks like a belt with two large pads that cover the hip bones, shielding them during a fall.

Source: Gemini, SINTEF