Inglewood Launches Fall Risk Pilot with InBody and USC in Blue Zone Bid

A pilot tied to a Blue Zone ambition

According to InBody, the pilot is meant to help reduce fall risk among Inglewood seniors. The program will run for a year at the city's Senior Center, which was completed in 2022 with approximately $50 million in city investment.

The initiative connects to a larger civic goal. Of the world's five Blue Zones, only one is on American soil, and Inglewood intends to become the second. InBody's announcement notes that the designation is earned over years rather than awarded, and that it demands sustained change across an entire population. Reducing falls, the company says, is an early and measurable test of the city's resolve.

The path to approval was driven by community advocacy, according to the release. USC clinicians and local physical therapy partners backed the FRA system after seeing it in action and took the case to local leaders and the city council, where dozens of seniors from the Inglewood Senior Center filled the chamber in support.

Why falls are the focus

The release cites the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in describing falls as the leading cause of injury and injury-related death among adults aged 65 and older in the United States. One in four older adults experiences a fall each year, according to the CDC. Falls contribute to more than $50 billion in annual U.S. healthcare costs, with the majority borne by Medicare and Medicaid.

InBody also states that more than 80% of fall risk factors are detectable months before a fall occurs, while traditional screenings often identify them only after functional decline has set in. The FRA system was built to close that gap, the company says, by giving an objective, integrated assessment of the sensory, nervous and musculoskeletal contributors to fall risk.

How the FRA system works

The FRA system combines three devices into a single evaluation:

• A force-plate kiosk for balance and reaction-time analysis
• An InBody body composition analyzer to identify muscle imbalances and sarcopenia
• A leg-strength dynamometer for objective bilateral force output

In Inglewood, the system will be deployed through KRU Sciences, an applied research company founded by USC researcher Malcolm Jones. Jones is a post-doctoral research associate with USC's Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy. "The KRU Sciences Blue Zone Access Model is built around identifying risk early and measuring outcomes over time," Jones said in the release. He added that the data lets KRU Sciences and the city "identify fall risk, personalize interventions, and track whether we're actually improving health outcomes in the community."

What it means for seniors and the market

Harry Yun, Chief Executive Officer at InBody USA, said the goal is to give seniors and their care teams tools to identify fall risk early and intervene with confidence. Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. described reducing falls as "a measure of how well we care for the residents who built Inglewood."

For InBody, which the release says is best known for body composition analysis, the pilot puts its newer FRA system into a public-sector setting. Its product line also includes blood pressure monitors and stadiometers. The company says the FRA system's applications extend beyond senior care to rehabilitation, post-injury recovery and any population working to restore balance and stability.

The release frames the pilot as giving the city a measurable, replicable model for evidence-based senior wellness. No results have been reported yet, and the one-year program will determine how well the approach works in practice.