Medical alarm

The American implementation was conceived in 1973 by Andrew Dibner, a psychologist on leave from Boston University who was studying personality in advanced age.

[5] In Germany, in the early 1970s, Wilhelm Hormann thought about developing a comprehensive structure for ambulatory and non-ambulatory care for the sick, the elderly, those who live alone, and people with disabilities.

The user wore a medallion around the neck that when pushed delivered a preprogrammed message to several phone numbers.

[7] Hormann's concept of "home alert" (Hausnotruf) with help from AEG-Telefunken Backnang GmbH was presented to the international public early in 1980.

In 1982 the Hausnotruf PERS system was distinguished with the Frankfurt Innovation Prize of the German Economy by the Wirtschaftsclub Rhein Main e.V.

In case of emergency the user can set off a call for help by the press of an alert button on a personal device, without needing to reach the telephone.

With others, there is no system operator, and the user simply programs the numbers of family members, neighbors, or local emergency responders.

If present, a responder can speak with the user through the microphone/speaker in order to clarify the type and severity of the emergency and discuss further measures.

The monitoring service for medical alarms (central station) is a call center facility that is staffed by trained professionals.

Monitoring service centers that are approved by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) have internal backup systems to add redundancy.

New fall detection technologies are being integrated into watches, pendants, hearing aids, and wall mounted devices that do not need to be worn by an individual.

[5] Federal and state charges have been brought against firms for various forms of fraud involving false promises, improper billing and violations of Do Not Call laws.