Hot button: Who's getting into mobile PERS now?

The world of mobile PERS and remote health monitoring continues to expand.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, ADT announced that it was getting into the game by teaming with Ideal Life, a Toronto-based company whose health monitoring and information technology will be integrated with ADT Pulse to provide “proactive prevention” for people managing chronic health conditions. The system uses digital, wireless, secure two-way communicators to measure and relay information about glucose levels, blood pressure, body weight, oxygen saturation and heart rate.

Royal Philips Electronics, which has long been a player in personal emergency response systems, also made news at CES by introducing Lifeline GoSafe. The mobile PERS system combines the company's AutoAlert fall-detection capability with two-way cell communication and up to seven user-location technologies.

“Our intention is that GoSafe will provide users with the confidence to get back to activities or go to places they have scaled back on, knowing that help is easily accessible,” Rob Goudswaard, senior director of product and service programs for Philips Home Monitoring, said in a prepared statement.

The need to provide more protection for seniors as they maintain their independence isn't lost on Mace Security International, which is “looking hard” at getting into the mobile PERS space, CEO and President John McCann told SSN last week.

“I think you're going to see a shift from just home security to security 24/7,” McCann said. “As you look at that shift in the world, and I use my dear sweet mother as an example, I'm a little more worried when she's on the road than when she's at home. Therefore we're looking at how do we increase that fence around her so she's safe, so loved ones feel that the person they're worried about is safe.”

Security dealers who want to take advantage of this growing market might want to think about attending the second annual PERS Summit, which will be held Sept. 10-12 in Park City, Utah. Last year's inaugural session brought together more than 100 dealers, service providers and manufacturers' reps for three days of networking. To learn more, go to www.perssummit.com.