wearable technology

wearable technology

In the 1980s, emergency response company Life Alert released a commercial showing older people falling down in slippery bathtubs, pulling out the pendant-shaped device and shouting, "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!"

Personal emergency response system (PERS) companies like Life Alert have long billed themselves as a solution for the 75% of adults 50 and over who want to live in their houses as long as possible, avoiding retirement homes or expensive live-in care facilities. Given that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three million people aged 65 and older are treated in ER rooms each year for fall injuries, there's certainly a need for services aimed at older folks.

But the Life Alert-style response technology has fallen out of favor with the population it serves.

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