Technology Sectors
OPINION / Technology to simplify and expedite locating a missing person
Mon, 2009-10-19 03:16 PM
Missing person searches cost taxpayers more than $1 billion annually. According to the Alzheimer's Association, there are currently 5.3 million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease — 70 percent are likely to wander throughout the course of their disability. Furthermore, 1.5 million in the U.S. currently have autism. A survey conducted by the National Autism Association showed that 92 percent of children with autism are prone to wandering.
As the population of at-risk individuals continues to grow, the need for a cost-effective location solution for law enforcement and government agencies is critical.
Technology can now locate mobile phones that call 9-1-1
Today's existing cellular networks use U-TDOA (Uplink Time Difference Of Arrival) technology to provide location information in emergency situations. This network-based location technology is used by 9-1-1 personnel nationwide to triangulate and calculate the location of mobile phone subscribers making 9-1-1 calls. Each year, 60 million 9-1-1 callers are located using U-TDOA technology in the U.S. alone.
A new tool to locate critical missing persons
The EmFinders EmSeeQ is an emergency response solution that uses a watch-like device worn by individuals with medical impairments such as autism, down syndrome or Alzheimer's disease. The device can only be activated at the request of the caregiver. Once activated, the device places a 9-1-1 call and provides its location to a 911 operator, just as a standard cell phone would.
EmFinders coordinates directly with 911 dispatchers in emergency situations -- dramatically reducing the time needed to locate and recover wandering individuals, while saving law enforcement agencies and the 9-1-1 community valuable human resources and tax dollars. Since this solution leverages existing infrastructure there is no incremental cost to municipalities.
Unlike other solutions that use GPS, the EmFinders solution can reliably locate wanderers who are indoors or are otherwise blocked by a wall, roof or building, regardless of how far they wander from home.
Technologies like this reduce the burden of deploying extensive search and rescue resources to recover critical missing persons with medical conditions that make them likely to wander.
Lisa J. Brodsky, MSSW, director of business development for EmFiners, is the liaison to nonprofit organizations, government agencies and communities for impaired individuals who might wander and become lost. Brodsky can be reached at: Lisa.Brodsky@emfinders.com
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As the population of at-risk individuals continues to grow, the need for a cost-effective location solution for law enforcement and government agencies is critical.
Technology can now locate mobile phones that call 9-1-1
Today's existing cellular networks use U-TDOA (Uplink Time Difference Of Arrival) technology to provide location information in emergency situations. This network-based location technology is used by 9-1-1 personnel nationwide to triangulate and calculate the location of mobile phone subscribers making 9-1-1 calls. Each year, 60 million 9-1-1 callers are located using U-TDOA technology in the U.S. alone.
A new tool to locate critical missing persons
The EmFinders EmSeeQ is an emergency response solution that uses a watch-like device worn by individuals with medical impairments such as autism, down syndrome or Alzheimer's disease. The device can only be activated at the request of the caregiver. Once activated, the device places a 9-1-1 call and provides its location to a 911 operator, just as a standard cell phone would.
EmFinders coordinates directly with 911 dispatchers in emergency situations -- dramatically reducing the time needed to locate and recover wandering individuals, while saving law enforcement agencies and the 9-1-1 community valuable human resources and tax dollars. Since this solution leverages existing infrastructure there is no incremental cost to municipalities.
Unlike other solutions that use GPS, the EmFinders solution can reliably locate wanderers who are indoors or are otherwise blocked by a wall, roof or building, regardless of how far they wander from home.
Technologies like this reduce the burden of deploying extensive search and rescue resources to recover critical missing persons with medical conditions that make them likely to wander.
Lisa J. Brodsky, MSSW, director of business development for EmFiners, is the liaison to nonprofit organizations, government agencies and communities for impaired individuals who might wander and become lost. Brodsky can be reached at: Lisa.Brodsky@emfinders.com
