After legal restrictions regarding coerced medication in Saxony, we monitored significant increases in aggressive behaviour and regarding the use of physical restraints at our closed psychiatric ward. Alternative measures for managing dangerous behaviour were discussed.

There are limitations regarding the use of treatment interventions in emergency psychiatry, e.g. the use of constant observation is limited in its efficiency generally and video surveillance is prohibited by law in high-risk areas (e.g. bathroom).

To find appropriate solutions for patient safety improvement in emergency psychiatry including high-risk areas, prospects of the field of “technical assistance” entered the limelight of interest.

In 2014, a cooperation of Chemnitz University of Technology, Intenta GmbH, Eckstein Design and the affiliated partner Klinikum Chemnitz started a project*, which focuses on the development of a technical assistance system for recognizing high-risk behavioural patterns (e.g. suicide attempt) in risk areas in emergency psychiatry. The system is based on a smart-sensor technology and waives a recording and storing of sound and vision.

In the 1st half of the project technical development and the design of the system were the focus of attention. Special requirements regarding use cases, user acceptance, data protection and ethical concerns were processed by our psychiatric department. Testing and further development of the system in clinical settings are planned.

The development of the system must be seen as a big challenge in many regards. Further research is indispensable.

*Sponsored by the Central Innovation Program Mittelstand of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.