Tuesday, April 3, 2012

TAKE SAFETY IN YOUR OWN HANDS

If you are one of those proactive types- or if you're at particular risk due to age or ailment -these devices can help first responders help you in a moment of need.

MEDICAL QR CODE

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are rushed to the emergency room every day, many with pre-existing medical conditions that could impact treatment.

The Code Amber Alertag solution by GTX Corp. (GTXO), can put critical identification and medical-history data into the hands of first responders, even when a patient is unconscious.

The Alertag contains a QR code that brings up key info when scanned by a first responder's smartphone.

"It's like your own personal safety deposit box," says Patrick Bertagna, CEO,
founder, and chairman of GTX Corp. "Basically anything and everything that would be in your doctor's office in those old file cabinets, you can carry one little piece of plastic that's the size of a stamp." ($ 19.95 for three lags; $20 annual subscription fee)

FALL DETECTION

For an extra measure of security, Lifecomm offers a mobile PERS (personal emergency response system) or "MPERS" unit that integrates accelerometer-based automatic fall detection with GPS technology to make sure help can find you when needed.

"When a fall occurs, or when the individual pushes the button on the device, there's a voice and data connection (and) one of the elements of data we send up is lat/long," says Rich Lobovsky, vice president of business development of Lifecomm, a majority-owned subsidiary of Hughes Telematics. "We identify the PSAP (public-safety answering point) who has jurisdiction... who then dispatches the appropriate first responder to address the need of that individual."

CONNECTED WORLD Jan/Feb 2012 73