Grandfather’s fall inspires uni student to create invention
After it took nearly two days for his grandfather to be found following a serious fall, a Brisbane student created a device now being rolled out across the country.
A new smart clock designed for the elderly by a Brisbane university student is being rolled out across the country.
MedClock allows Australians to provide reminders to older family members to ensure that nothing has gone wrong while they are away.
University of Queensland student Kai Gould created the clock after his 80-year-old grandfather had a fall at his farm.
“He had a fall and he had been on the ground for two days,” he said.
“We tried to call him, he didn’t answer, so we drove out there to check on him and that’s where we found him on the ground.
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“I was two years into my uni degree, and I thought I could build him something here that he might use.”
It started off with a button on the bench, which would send a message to Gould, his mother and his aunt whenever pressed to let them know that he was okay.
However, that solution hit a snag when his grandfather stopped using the device.
The next part of Gould’s process was to figure out how to make sure that his grandfather had no choice but to use the clock.
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“I thought that’s when I’ll start making it beep so it annoys the hell out of him, so I added the buzzer and then I added the screen” he said.
“If he holds it for five seconds, it will alert all the connected family members saying ‘hey, he needs help now’.
“It’s got missed check-in reminders, so if he doesn’t press the button, then you set the grace period; he’s got five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the afternoon and after that it starts beeping.
“If he doesn’t, we get told saying ‘something’s not right, he hasn’t pressed the button’.”
MedClock allows older Australians to have the smart clock anywhere in their home and it is connected to an app that allows the rest of the family to monitor the device from anywhere in the world.
Family members can set alarm times, up to ten medication names and times and other reminders for those using the clock.
There are now more than 1000 people who have bought the clock, which is currently stocked in 20 pharmacies and Australia-wide distribution has started. Gould saying the feedback was positive.
“The five-second hold feature was a request from a customer saying ‘hey if he needs help in the moment or he’s not feeling well, can you make it so it alerts me straight away?’” he said.
“People love it […] they’re saying it’s been helping them get a relationship back with their family, with their mum and dad.
“They’ve still got their independence, but the family knows that they’re okay.
“It’s so good to know that something I built to help my family, just from a single Facebook post, that is now going Australia wide.”
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