An innovative ‘medical/dementia’ pendant that stores vital personal information that can be accessed by mobile phone – used in a similar way to contactless payment- has been created by a Ramsgate resident.
Christopher Dring runs H&B Thanet Personalised Gifts which provides pet items such as personalised tags.He has taken the Near Field Communication {NFC} chip used in his pet tags and converted it to use in the attractive, steamed beech prototype pendants.
Christopher, who lives in the ton with his partner, said: “We basically came up with this idea due to issues my partner had with his mother. She had dementia and whilst this was mild, she did go out for walks and then started to get muddled.
“When she attended hospital appointments or daycare she would forget certain things. At that time there wasn’t really anything we could do that would maintain her safety apart from attending all appointments or going out with her. She has now passed.
“We set up our business this year with money we inherited from my partner’s mother and whilst we knew we wanted to develop new products, we wanted to do something that could be of help to others.
“Our business is mainly around gifts ,dog tags and engraving, including NFC Dog Tags coasters and business cards.
“It was from our start up that we came across NFC technology (Near Field Communication). “This is used in business cards and can be used in many products, many which we make. We began to think could we use this, say as a pendant or on a keychain for people with dementia. “The information that can be linked to the tags can contain valuable details such as where a person lives, medical information, allergies. what a person likes. Even the Alzheimer’s Society “This is me document.”
“So, if a person attended a day centre, this information could be accessed. However we are stating to our testers that it is for them to enter this information and they should ensure that the person wearing the pendant would be happy with the information stored on it.
“We just know that if my partner’s mum had one of these it could have helped. With the NFC Pendant the information link on it can be password protected as well for further security.
“We also researched current similar products on the market. Most of these necklaces do not contain a chip, they just have the condition on them, like “dementia” in big red writing. They are also very expensive for what they are.
“ They are often ugly and not very dignified. Some have a capsule with a small amount of details. “With the NFC Pendant as much information as needed can be stored on the site to the link. The Tag itself does not contain information, it only contains a link to that information. So, a link created in the tag to a landing page such as the one we advise, which is free and called Dropbox, but it could be anything.
“The pendants can be used for all conditions, not just dementia. They come with the NFC recognised tap phone logo on the back. On the front they have a flower or a hot air balloon. “These are only prototypes, as we offer engraving, it is likely we will engrave a name or whatever a person wants on the front of the pendant.
“We will make these pendants to order and we make these ourselves from sheets of quality wood, making the shapes and engraving. Therefore we can offer them as personalised at no extra cost when we put these on sale.
“On Esty or Amazon the pendants that tend to be steel and not dignified sell for over £8, sometimes a lot more. Even after any changes we will only charge £5 including postage.”
Currently Christopher is testing the prototype to see if there are any tweaks needed and he is happy to provide a pendant to anyone who would like to be a tester.
He said: “There is no monthly cost, just a questionnaire to complete. People can keep the pendant. The person setting up the pendant does need a mobile phone. Once it is done however, it doesn’t have to be worn by someone with a mobile phone. We go through everything with any testers.
To contact Christopher for a protype pendant email [email protected]
Find H&B Thanet Personalised Gifts at hbthanet.com
Dementia is a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia.
Find information and support at https://www.alz.org/
About 6 years ago my neighbour died, he was 76, and although a retired teacher did suffer from self neglect, and was a hoarder. I had been in touch with social services, who would give him a call every now and then. When he died no one knew until the police came round one evening and asked me about him. They broke into my neighbours, and found him long dead! In fact he had decomposed and Fire & Rescue had to remove his remains. He had no relatives, but it did give me a jolt, and I found a Folkestone Council based company that keeps a check on me from their 24 hour call centre.
I have a number of life threatening disabilities, and had lost my sense of balance, and for less than £6.00 a week I get a call at 9am, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to see if I am still alive! I could have more but found that was the most convenient. I also have a “Pendent” that I wear round my neck, which is like a mobile phone and can trace me within 10 meters of my location. I can contact the Call Centre any time by pressing a button on the pendent, should I need help. The call centre also has a record of my medical conditions, and can contact my GP, or Emergency services any time. I have found this service very reassuring, as I live alone, and my nearest relative lives in Wales. The company can be reached on: 01303 242615 and will send a representative to assess you before signing you up for the service.
Dumpton. My brother had a similar thing that you describe he paid a monthly fee on direct debit to a monitoring service we spoke on the phone daily one evening his phone was engaged for a long time so I checked with BT and they told me there was a fault on the line. The next afternoon I went to his address in Maidstone because his phone was still sounding engaged. I had a key to his front door sadly when I entered I found him deceased on the floor in his Lounge his cordless phone in his hand he never owned a mobile.
The company he paid monthly to did not alert me or anyone else.
They said the signals from the devise my brother was wearing were “ not always transmitted to their control centre due to location blanks”.
Bill, I had a leasehold flat in a Retirement scheme once, and many residents had similar alarm systems like the one you mentioned. But the problem was they only worked inside their flats, and were really just a short extension of their Land line phone. The one I have works like a Mobile Phone, and can be used anywhere there is a mobile phone signal. I set it off twice this morning by accident (my fault) and someone contacted me immediately, although on the last occasion I was outside in my road preparing my Mobility Scooter, and I accidentally pressed the alarm button due to many clothes layers, my bad!