Frost & Sullivan Recognizes BeClose as a Technology Innovator for 'Aging Independently' in North America

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the personal emergency response systems (PERS) market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes BeClose with the 2010 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation of the Year for its innovative BeClose System and its applications in the "aging independently" environment.

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While PERS have provided a health monitoring service for the elderly for many years, the systems are highly simplistic and provide little in the form of actual prevention and life management. They only notify in the case of an event, and in many cases it is too late. The BeClose System has successfully addressed these challenges by allowing caregivers to monitor behavior patterns, thus enabling an active form of management and prevention that is desperately needed.

"The traditional PERS market heavily relies on the fear aspect of in-home elderly monitoring, but does little to address the true management and preventative opportunities made possible by in-home elderly monitoring systems," says Frost & Sullivan research Analyst Industry Manager Zachary Bujnoch. "This preventative aspect is where BeClose's solution goes beyond the traditional basic PERS offering, with BeClose striving to enhance and improve upon conventional PERS offerings."

BeClose's solution is made of three main components – the peripheral sensors, the base station, and the online monitoring website. The sensors go beyond the simple panic pendant to provide a system that really enables the caregiver or loved one to assess someone in an active and preventative manner. Motion and pressure sensors allow the monitoring of any changes in habitual behaviors. There are also many specific sensor types supporting this active monitoring system such as bed, chair, door, window, toilet, and water leakage sensors. In addition, there is an option for a simple big red BeClose button, allowing the monitored person an easy way to contact their caregiver in a more subtle way than the traditional panic button, which notifies authorities in an immediate and dramatic way.

Equally important is online monitoring, which has a highly customizable notification. Some caregivers have very specific activities that they want to watch while others want to look at a much broader spectrum of activities. BeClose supports this critical aspect of system implementation by providing a training program to familiarize the user with the system and also establish common events and activities for customized notification.

Overall, BeClose provides a customizable monitoring experience beyond simple emergency notification to allow caregivers and loved ones to manage and improve patient care.  While the system has a higher price point than traditional PERS, it remains affordable by offering monthly costs under that critical $100 a month mark.

"With the 65-and-above demographic continuing to grow, elderly care and 'aging independently' are at the core of the current healthcare crisis, which demands a more active role from the patient's close circle instead of just healthcare professionals," notes Bujnoch. "This is where solutions like the BeClose system will play a crucial role."

Going forward, there is a wealth of opportunity for these types of systems as they will be an integral part of the evolving medical home. As a peripheral to a larger system, virtually any home health or remote system could use such a product and as such, the opportunities for BeClose going forward are impressive indeed.

Based on these factors, Frost & Sullivan has selected BeClose as the recipient of the 2010 North American Technology Innovation of the Year Award in the PERS market. Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated uniqueness in developing a technology, which significantly impacts both the functionality and the customer value of the new products and applications. The award lauds the relevance of the innovation to the industry.

Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About BeClose

BeClose™ is a breakthrough remote home monitoring system designed to allow people to age in place independently while giving their family members and caregivers the peace of mind of knowing that they're safe. The system of wireless sensors is fully customizable and tech-friendly. The system is based on a research and development partnership with Alarm.com, the nation's leading in-home wireless monitoring system, serving more than 400,000 homes and businesses nationwide. By leveraging the patented alarm.com technology platform, BeClose can scale usage on a proven system that processes more than 25 Million security and safety events every month. BeClose headquarters are outside of Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.beclose.com.

About Frost & Sullivan

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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan