A tongue-activated emergency beacon for immobile patients

This paper reports the design and implementation of an infrared signal transmitting tongue activated emergency beacon. This low-cost, simple and reliable device can help immobile patients communicate with the medical staff in the event of an emergency without interfering with other equipment. The physical dimensions of this device were minimized to provide flexibility and suit the most vulnerable and impaired patients. The presented sensor-microcontroller configuration results in a robust and intelligent functionality that would allow this device to outperform many of the commercially available systems used in similar environments.