Lighting the Way

Every year, half of all assisted-living residents suffer a fall, the leading cause of injury and death for older adults. Up to 40 percent of assisted-living falls happen at night, when residents struggle with navigating in the dark, and there are fewer staff members on hand. Those lucky enough to survive a fall are often faced with long-term physical and emotional trauma. The medical costs for falls among America’s seniors can reach more than $50 billion annually.

2014 Northwestern engineering alumni Matthew Wilcox and Donovan Morrison (and former team member and 2015 alumnus Wesley Youman) developed a solution. Their product, Luna Lights, uses an ultra-thin bed sensor and a lighting system to illuminate a pathway to the bathroom or bedroom door when a user leaves his or her bed.

The system also can alert caregivers if a resident does not return to bed, allowing for a faster emergency response. Additionally, Wilcox and Morrison developed a cloud-based, predictive analytics platform that tracks nightly activity and uses the data to help clinicians recognize underlying conditions.

Luna Lights, now based in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood, started as a Design for America (DFA) project, and Wilcox and Morrison have relied on mentors in the University’s alumni network to help with the complexities of starting a business. Much of their early support came from former DFA mentor Billy Banks, now the associate director of The Garage at Northwestern.

Since graduating from Northwestern, Wilcox and Morrison have worked to expand Luna Lights to senior communities throughout Chicago and beyond. They also are working to launch a consumer model.