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Philips Lifeline AutoAlert receives 2011 Medical Design Excellence Award 

Clinton MA - April 2011

Philips Lifeline AutoAlert has received a 2011 Medical Design Excellence Award (MDEA). Helping seniors maintain their independence, the AutoAlert pendant is a wearable help button. The improved monitoring system detects falls, automatically calling for help if the wearer is unable to push the button due to disorientation or unconsciousness.  

“Our research showed us that many users do not wear their help buttons all the time,” says Stephen Heath, Creative Director at Philips Design. “They are conscious of feeling stigmatized by the device and viewed it as a visible symbol of their frailty. The design challenge was to improve usability and appeal of the help button and incorporate new technology and fall detection features without compromising acceptance. We are therefore very proud to have received an MDEA award. It is a recognition that we managed to deliver a solution that met the physical, functional and emotional preferences of this very specific demographic of users.”  

Philips invited Radius to be the engineering partner to help define the final product implementation, Based on Philips’ design concept and creative direction, Radius engineered the solution, maintaining the desired design  and functionality throughout the program. 

We are honored be recognized by the MDEA judges for this life saving product.  Lifeline AutoAlert is a revolutionary product because it protects the user when they cannot protect themselves.  It works seamlessly with a senior’s lifestyle whether they are walking in the garden or standing in the shower.  The required performance environment provided a challenging puzzle that was a pleasure to solve as we thought of our own parents and grandparents.  We are excited to be part of the team that has developed cost effective protection for our most vulnerable population. 

The Medical Design Excellence Awards competition (www.MDEAwards.com) is organized and presented by UBM Canon (Los Angeles) and is the only awards program that exclusively recognizes contributions and advances in the design of medical products. Entries are evaluated on the basis of their design and engineering features, including innovative use of materials, user-related functions that improve healthcare delivery and change traditional medical attitudes or practices, features that provide enhanced benefits to the patient, and the ability of the product development team to overcome design and engineering challenges so that the product meets its clinical objectives.  

A comprehensive review of the entries was performed by an impartial, multidisciplinary panel of third-party jurors with expertise in biomedical engineering, human factors, industrial design, medicine, and diagnostics.  

The 2011 Medical Design Excellence Award winners will be honored at a presentation ceremony on Wednesday, June 8, 2011 in New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, in conjunction with the Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) East Conference and Exposition (www.MDMEast.com), June 7–9, 2011. Gold and silver award recipients will be announced at this time.