A Montreal-based company is developing inflatable fall-protection clothing designed to reduce injuries in seniors. The company, Azimut Medical, has combined airbags with pants to protect the wearer in the event of a fall. With a small popping sound, a compact airbag inflates as Azimut Medical co-founder Pierre Li demonstrates a fall. The waistband of the pants is packed with technology. Maxime Bolduc, CEO and co-founder of Azimut Medical, says the device “acts like an airbag and is completely inflated by the time you hit the ground. And so the goal here is to protect your hips, protect hip fractures, protect from pelvic injuries.” He explains that while slim airbag hardware isn’t new, their patented software can distinguish a real fall from someone simply dropping onto a couch. “The training material is for the multilayer machine-learning algorithm that we have, and so what we do is derive real movement, real falls from people, and we train the algorithm on that,” Bolduc says. The idea came from concerns for his grandparents. Bolduc holds a degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in innovation management, which he used to develop something more advanced than traditional hip protectors — foam pads that slip into underwear. Geriatrician Dr. Stéphane Lemire says the inflatable hip protector is “something great because people didn’t really like the hip protectors we had in the past.” He says better protection during falls could reduce hospitalizations among seniors and be “very useful in preventing hip fractures.” For now, the innovation comes at a cost. The commercial price could reach $1,500 a pair for the made-in-Quebec safety garments. Bolduc says their research shows “our version is 64 per cent more effective than a regular hip protector.” Clinical trials are set to begin in January 2026 with clients in Quebec and Ontario who want to start the new year with more protection on their side.
