Dec. 16, 1998: Billy H. Seidel, a member of CryoCare, has developed a low-cost system, and made plans available, for an alarm in case a member of a cryonics organization dies while alone in bed. (There have been cases in the past when that happened, resulting in considerable delay in beginning cryonic suspension procedures.)
The report, including diagrams, is five pages. With Mr. Seidel's permission, CI/IS will mail it at no cost to our members or associates. He is also willing to offer personal help or answers: email: seidel@commspeed.net.
It is basically a motion detector and telephone system. If the patient does not move in the bed for an hour (or, presumably, some other selected interval), an alarm goes out by telephone to four people who have instructions on what to do.
The system is the first phase of ongoing work, and obviously does not meet all of our ideal criteria. Its main advantage is low cost (less than $220) and ease of purchase, using off-the-shelf components. The main disadvantages are: (1) An immediate, rather than a delayed alarm, would be preferable--something like cessation of pulse; (2) An alarm attached to the patient (again, perhaps a wrist pulse monitor), rather than aimed at the bed, would be better, since a person living alone could die while up and about; (3) The technical requirements for attention and adjustment may be a bit too demanding for some elderly or ill people. Still, this is much better than nothing; our thanks to Mr. Seidel.
Cryonics Institute