Featuring D3O®
Impact Protection Technology

Next-Generation Fall-Safe Hip Protectors

Hip protectors all share a common basic concept—a pair of pads held in position over the widest part of the hips by a specially designed undergarment. While various undergarments have been designed for a variety of preferences, it is the design and composition of the protective pads that play the major role in determining which hip protector is likely to be most effective and most accepted.

Not surprisingly, not all hip protectors are created equal, either in efficacy or comfort. As a result, their overall effectiveness in reducing the number of hip fractures has been limited—until now.

A unique combination of superior impact protection, comfort, durability, and affordability make Fall-Safe Hip Protectors the new standard of care in hip fracture prevention—for use both in elder care facilities and in the home.

 

Medical Protection Technologies has worked closely with its UK licensor, Hip Impact Protection and D3O Lab, the inventors of D3O patented polymer impact protection technology, to perfect the design of Fall-Safe Hip Protectors. Driven by a strong focus on intelligent design, we are finally able to offer optimal levels of shock absorption in an anatomically shaped pad that is distinctive in both form and function.

 

Intelligent Design

 

Fall-Safe Hip Protectors are comfortable enough to wear while sleeping and almost unnoticeable under clothing.

 

  • Flexibility—The unique D3O material makes the pads soft and pliable.  Unlike most pads, they are comfortable enough to wear even in bed without disturbing sleep. This is particularly important given that many falls occur at night when getting out of bed, often when lighting is poor and when, in care facilities, staff levels tend to be lowest.
  • ShapeGuided by professional understanding of the clinical requirements, these soft, custom-designed pads are carefully engineered to conform perfectly to the underlying anatomy, unlike the flat (and larger) discs of many other hip protector pads. The concave shape is designed to produce minimal pressure contact over the widest portion of the hips (greater femoral trochanter).
  • Profile—Less than 18mm (3/4 inch) thin, Fall-Safe Hip Protectors are sculpted with beveled edges and contoured to be almost unnoticeable under clothing.
  • BreathabilityFall-Safe Hip Protector pads uniquely feature both grooves and “breathing” holes to allow heat and moisture to escape.

Video - Shape and Flexibility Fall-Safe Features

  • Impact Protection:  Efficacy & DurabilityDirect comparison studies of leading hip protectors using the latest in testing equipment have shown that the Fall-Safe Hip Protector leads the industry in impact protection and durability—even after repeated impacts
  • EconomicsNot having to be discarded and replaced after even a single direct fall onto the pad (a practice called for by other manufacturers), Fall-Safe Hip Protectors offer clear and potentially significant economic advantages with long term use.  Similarly, by avoiding laundry damage, the removable pads remain usable for approximately three years;  most notably they do not have to be replaced every three months as is commonly recommended by experts in the field.  

Video - Fall-Safe Performance

These high standards of design and engineering underscore our commitment to providing hip protector pads that are ever more wearable, overcoming one of their primary historical drawbacks—discomfort. This careful attention to detail is just another aspect of what sets Fall-Safe Hip Protectors apart, offering pre-eminent shock absorption capacity as well as comfort, wearability, and acceptance.

Our recent launch of Fall-Safe Hip Protectors onto the US healthcare scene represents the latest chapter of a two-year intensive product development process.  As they are increasingly deployed across the country, both in individual homes as well as in long term care facilities, Fall-Safe Hip Protectors are rapidly becoming the hip protector of choice.  As they do so, they are making a significant contribution to the well-being of many more whose health and even lives are at risk from the devastating effects of hip fractures.