Coronis, a supplier of ultra-low-power and long-range wireless solutions, announces that its Wavenis technology has been integrated into new products by Data Health System (DHS) of Nîmes, France, that automatically detect when people fall. Initially targeted for use in retirement homes, the Ynolis product line includes a fleet of “detection bracelets” connected to a central alarm unit via an ultra-low-power and long-range wireless network based on Wavenis technology.

 

When a person equipped with a Ynolis bracelet falls, the bracelet automatically sends an alarm to a central unit, which then relays it immediately to attendants’ pagers for quick reaction. A main innovation in Ynolis is its ability to reliably discern the detection criteria that define a fall.

Wavenis wireless technology offers very long-range communications with the lowest possible power consumption. It is optimized for battery-powered devices requiring extensive autonomy. Under equivalent operating conditions, other standard technologies reach 30 to 60 while Wavenis reaches over 650. This makes it possible to deploy very lightweight network infrastructure, frequently without repeaters.

Ynolis is being launched after several months of testing at the Montpellier University Hospital (France) and at the City of Paris Center for Social Action. DHS is currently selling Ynolis directly to retirement homes for a price around $1 per day. The company is negotiating agreements with leading medical product distributors in France and internationally.

”After rigorously evaluating a number of solutions, Wavenis technology from Coronis clearly stood out as the performance choice,” explains Dr. Charles-Antoine Roussy, CEO and founder of Data Health System. “Today Wavenis offers the best price-performance ratio on the market. With it, Ynolis can reach several hundred [feet] and offer a battery life of several months.”

With sophisticated wireless techniques and Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) in license-free 870 MHz (Europe) and 915 MHz (North America) bands, Wavenis technology combines long range and ultra-low power consumption (10µA on average, with one-second deterministic access time). It is robust against physical and electrical interference while co-existing in perfect harmony with other wireless technologies, including those operating in 2.4 GHz bands.

Thanks to a European “Eureka” program with Switzerland, the fall-detection solution in Ynolis will soon be integrated, along with Wavenis, into a wristwatch with Swiss design and technology. The new design will be available for people at home starting in 2007.