Image courtesy of Tunstall.

Digital home healthcare is a burgeoning market for the custom integration industry. Tunstall Group CIO Geoff Feakes talks to Kate Jordan about his company’s Telecare system.

Australia’s population is ageing. The baby boomers are hitting retirement age, greatly swelling the ranks of the over 65s. These people want to live in their homes for longer – and research has shown that they will live healthier, happier lives if they do. Custom integration can help these golden oldies stay in their homes, while keeping them safe.

One company catering to this emerging market – both here and overseas – is Tunstall. The Tunstall telecare system is specifically designed to help people live independently.

“Telecare is technology that helps older people or those with long term health conditions to live in their home longer with integrity and independence,” Tunstall Group chief information officer Geoff Feakes explains. “One of Tunstall’s main mottos is to enable freedom and deliver peace of mind to the end user, carer and family members.”

Tunstall has been using technology to help people live independently for many years. The company began in 1957 when engineer Norman Tunstall developed a response system to support his mother in her home. Since then the company has grown to cover more than 50 countries (with offices in Brisbane and Tauranga, New Zealand), supporting more than 3.6 million people worldwide.

The support system now centres on a Personal Response System (PRS) that acts as a reporting hub for a range of devices, including fall detectors, smoke alarms and pressure sensors, among many others. Once an alarm is triggered, the monitoring centre automatically answers the call from the client.

“The medical alarm automatically transfers the identification of the unit. There is no transfer of any privacy information; it’s purely the identity of the medical alarm,” Geoff says.

For example, if a client has a fall the monitoring centre operator communicates with them via the PRS. If they simply need some assistance getting up, the operator can call a family member, friend or other contact to assist them. If the operator cannot get a response or thinks it necessary, they can also arrange emergency services such as an ambulance. As every client is unique, the system is wholly customisable to their needs, from the devices that are installed (and thus movements and actions that are monitored) through to the response received from the monitoring system and Tunstall operators.

“We tailor those options in regards to what the patient requires. If a patient lives on their own and has very limited family support, but has a very good connection with their neighbour, then that respondent could be their neighbour. We’re not prescriptive in that form,” Geoff says.

“The Tunstall Piper Network Control (PNC) Call Management platform is our monitoring platform. Around 500 monitoring centres use it globally. It contains all the patient information, so when the alert from the medical alarm comes in, it automatically displays all the information we have on file for the client including personal information, medical history and care requirements,” Geoff explains. “The PNC provides all the tools the operator needs to provide care back to the patient.”

A large number of devices can be built into the system, all with a different purpose. For example:

• Pressure sensors in bed and chair pads to check if the client is going about their regular routine.
• Automatic fall and movement detectors to sense when the client has had a fall or is inactive.
• Personal alarms allow the client to contact the emergency monitoring centre if they need to.

Most of these devices are Tunstall’s own, but its system can also monitor third party devices. The Tunstall range is predominantly manufactured in the UK.

The PRS currently communicates with pendant and sensors over RF, but Tunstall is looking into IP and other connectivity options to increase the range of the devices.

“We have a strong focus on bringing out IP-connected products, using technologies like Voice over IP, 3G, WiFi, and Bluetooth to extend the range of our sensors to meet the lifestyle of our customers,” Geoff says. “We have a lot of work that is going into bi-directional pendants so that we can be assured that when a client presses a trigger, that we’ve received that response and we’ve actioned it appropriately.”

The Tunstall products are available through a network of resellers, as well as directly from Tunstall for larger corporate clients. In Australia and New Zealand, Tunstall often receives referrals from occupational therapists and general practitioners. It is also a PRS provider for the Australian Department of Veterans Affairs’ Rehabilitation Appliances Program.

For more than 55 years, Tunstall has been developing their services and products to help people live independently – and it appears they’ll continue to do so in the future.