Different people have different opinions of PERS- Personal Emergency Response Systems. Some seniors do not like the feeling of “Big Brother” watching them constantly in their own homes, yet, seniors want to feel safe when they are on their own.
A new variation of a PERS was released recently by Lively, a start-up company with some interesting ideas. Their product is a highly functional and also modern safety watch which is a standard step counter like other smart watches, but with a lot more. It can remind its user when to take his/her meds, family alerts, and other types of reminders. It is also a nicely styled waterproof watch.
The watch is easily customized, not only by the person wearing the watch, but also by family members or caregivers from a remote location. It is easy to read with high contrasting white numerals/letters on a black background, which are large.
The help button is easy to find and to press. When it is depressed someone from a call center will get in touch with the user. If contact is not made with the user, emergency agencies will be contacted, and services dispatched as needed. Users can add a fall detection feature to their watch as well.
The device also has a Hub with four sensors to keep track of important items in the home, such as pill boxes, shower/bathroom doors, and/or other objects which would be touched daily. The sensors then learn the daily routine of the user, and if something is amiss one day, the hub will send out an alert to family or emergency contacts. For example, if one morning the bathroom door does not move, it could be a sign that something is wrong. The same if the refrigerator does not open, or if the pills are not moved. Notifications can be sent to anyone who is added to the system via email, text messages or the mobile app.
