Vital Signs Alarm Systems
for Cryonicists
Ben Best
Past President – Cryonics Institute
Life Extension Foundation –
Director of Research Oversight
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Cryonics Links to Future Life
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Timely pronouncement & response at legal death
Well-equipped and well-trained standby team
Well-equipped and skillful perfusion team
Well-equipped and stable storage organization
A chain is only as strong as its
WEAKEST LINK
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Historically, less than half of
cryonicists who have arranged for
standby have actually received
standby at deanimation, although
the situation has improved in
recent years
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Most of those who receive standby
are cryonicists dying of cancer
Sudden death does not allow for
standby team involvement
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Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD)
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Males aged 20-64
32% of all deaths due to SCD
 25% showed no prior sign of heart disease
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Males aged 45-75
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60% of SCDs had no prior evidence of heart disease
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AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY; 43:313 (1979)
CIRCULATION; 51:606 (1975)
After menopause heart disease is the number one
cause of death in women, and is comparable to the
rate of death in men
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Cryonicists living alone
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Many elderly cryonicists live alone
Cryonics Institute (CI) Member Hugh Hart (45th patient)
 Died on a Friday and was not discovered until Monday
Alcor Patient FM2030
 Dead for about a week in his apartment
CI’s 76th patient was a paraplegic found dead in his
wheelchair on Christmas Day
Elderly CI patient found dead in bed in the morning by his
landlady (asked for daily checkup)
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Cryonicists not living alone
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A CI activist was discovered by his spouse lying on
the floor of a room of their house, dead for hours
Young CI patient found dead in bed in the
morning was preserved by a relative
Alcor 2012 conference Martine Rothblatt
calculated only 3% chance of unobserved death
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My CI experience 10-20% (living alone or not)
A cryonics-friendly spouse could awaken to
discover the cryonicist spouse dead in their bed
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Medic Alert Systems (panic-button
systems) could help
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Some elderly cryonicists have lain on the floor who
could have been saved by a “panic-button” system
“Panic-button systems” can alert cryonicists and
cryonics organizations as well as 911
911 can give chest compressions/ventilations while
driving to a hospital, even if the heart is stopped
Declaration of death can be obtained at a hospital
Cryonicists can rush to hospital and begin cooling
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MEDIC ALERT SYSTEM REVIEW
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Top Ten Reviews rates Medical Guardian the best
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MEDIC ALERT SYSTEM REVIEW
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Medical Alert Advice rates LifeStation the best
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MobileHelp
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24/7 call center (like all Medical Alert Systems)
GPS and fall detector
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MOBILE HELP
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Automatic fall detection pendant and wristband
with “panic button”
$10 extra per month for fall detection in wristband
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Pendant and wristband can communicate with base
station or mobile device
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Only recommended for frail clients
Could fall thousands of miles from home and base
station GPS would provide location
Recommends monthly testing (DEMONSTRATE)
KeyGuard LockBox on my doorknob
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ELECTRONIC CAREGIVER
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“Panic button” system with call center
Has an activity sensor (pass by location daily)
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ELECTRONIC CAREGIVER
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No pendants (troublesome or too easily activated)
Inactivity detection system (affix to bedroom wall)
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If expect to be away, can inactivate the alarm
Forgot to inactivate or plans changed
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Sends alarm if no activity 5-10 AM or 5-10 PM
I was called on my cell phone
Good for an elderly person usually at home
Discontinued: don’t want to be on an airplane
when I remember I forgot to inactivate
Monthly testing requires notification before test
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Valuable to monitor “vital signs”?
Does not require victim alertness
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Medical Alert System won’t give rapid
response if die in sleep or experience SCD
Movement (bed alarm, inactivity alarm)
X minutes with no movement
 Out of bed in the night to go to the bathroom
 Pet or companion in bed
 Nick Pavlica’s bed alarm, too many false alarms
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Respiration
Heartbeat, pulse
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POLAR H7 HEART RATE SENSOR
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Heart-rate from chest strap bluetooth connection
Communicate with Sweetbeat app
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Sweetbeat iPAD app
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Resting HR and HRV
iPAD app with Bluetooth connection to chest strap
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Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
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Average Heart Rate (HR) 60-100
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Athlete HR usually below 60
Heart Rate Variability measures variation in
distances between ECG peaks
HRV measures control of heart by autonomic nervous
system
 High HRV indicates adaptive, flexible control of the
body by the brain
 High HRV = low stress, low HRV = high stress
 Low HRV is predicts cardiovascular disease
CIRCULATION 94(11):2850 (2012)
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Heart Rate Recovery (HRR)
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HRR measure the drop in heart rate in Beats Per
Minute (bpm) during the first minute after
completion of endurance exercise
HRR of less than12 bpm is highly associated with
risk of cardiovascular death
HRR of 12 bpm has about twice the risk of CV
death as HRR of 25 bpm
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
341:1351 (1999)
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Heart Rate Recovery (HRR)
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Heart Rate Recovery (HRR)
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WAHOO FITNESS
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Heart rate monitor from chest strap
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RUNTASTIC
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Heart-rate and GPS
Chest strap
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MyPulse
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Heart rate monitor from chest strap
Low heart-rate alarm dials several phone numbers
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MyPulse Wireless Heart Monitor
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Spent many years testing for use with Robert Ettinger
Many connectivity and false alarm problems
Helped with product development (may be better now)
Robert Ettinger refused to wear a chest strap
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SPREE SPORTS HEAD-BAND
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Senses heart-rate from head-band
“Freedom From Chest Straps” (no alarm)
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Withings Blood Pressure Monitor
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Blood Pressure (Withings)
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iPAD app connects to Blood Pressure Monitor
Pressing “Start” inflates the monitor cuff
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Blood Pressure (Withings)
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Green line shows progress of measurement
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Blood Pressure (Withings)
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Systolic Blood Pressure = 126 mmHg
Diastolic Blood Pressure = 74 mmHg
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Hexoskin iPAD app
Measure heart rate, respiration rate, steps, etc
 8-hour battery life
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Hexoskin
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TINKE
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Place thumb in computer-connected detector
Get heart-rate, respiration-rate, and blood oxygen
Monitoring of heart-rate is not continuous
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TINKE
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PC-60C FINGERTIP PULSE OXIMETER
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Gives heart-rate and blood oxygen
 Blood oxygen = SpO2
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NONIN FINGERTIP PULSE OXIMETER
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Gives heart-rate and blood oxygen
Not continuous monitoring
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HEARTMATH
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Measures heart-rate and HRV from earlobe
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PERFORMEK IRIVERON
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Senses heart-rate from earphones
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Cardiograph Android App
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Cover camera lens with finger tip
Gives pulse rate and ECG display
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“Real Blood Pressure” Android App
Android cell phone application
 Finger tips on front and on camera lens
 Gives both pulse rate and blood pressure
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Desired features
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Detection of loss of vital signs (heartbeat)
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Comfortable and convenient to use (bathing)
Sends messages by phone numbers, e-mail, etc.
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CONTINUOUS and preferably rapid
Preferably to a call center
GPS is identified and transmitted with message
Low power consumption, convenient to recharge
Wirelessly operational anywhere
False alarms minimal and easily-handled
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Athena GTX
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Monitors ECG, SpO2, blood pressure, etc.
Portable
Requires prescription
Not comfortable or convenient
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NUVANT MCT
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NUVANT MCT
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Continuous wireless heart monitor
Requires prescription
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For patients vulnerable to cardiac arrhythmia
Physician access
Monitoring center
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“Coming Soon”
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I have been hearing for over 15 years that
The technology is trivial
 There will be soon be a consumer product available
 Cryonicists don’t need to create the product themselves
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2012/2013 has made a big difference
Many convenient and helpful heart monitors have
come on the market in 2013
Canadian cryonicist Dennis started
CryonicsVitalSignsAlert Yahoo group and has
created a vital signs app for Android smartphones
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Wristband Heart-Rate Monitors
available in January 2014
Exmovere EMPATH Sensor Phone
 Basis Health Tracker
 Mio Alpha Heart Rate Monitor
 DREAM SPORT DG-BT TOP
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Exmovere EMPATH Sensor Phone
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Exmovere EMPATH Sensor Phone
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Watch, phone, contacts, FM radio, calculator
Heart-rate, skin temperature & moisture,
pedometer, GPS
8-hour battery life
Heart rate monitoring only when selected
Heart rate monitoring interrupted by phone calls
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Basis Health Tracker
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Basis Health Tracker
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Periodic rather than continuous monitoring of
heart-rate, skin temperature, steps, etc.
Samples taken every 5 minutes in the background
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Not continuous, but frequent and automatic
Values displayed on command, but quickly reverts
to watch mode
Communicates with bluetooth to smartphone and
then to “cloud” (for internet access by PC/iPad)
80-hour battery life, can recharge while wearing
Proprietary software ? Android ?
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Basis Heart Rate ― One Day
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Online graphical display of a full day
Heart rate elevated while exercising
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Basis Sleep ― One Day
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Graphical display of light, deep, and REM sleep
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Basis Activity ― One Day
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Display of HR, steps, skin temp, perspiration, etc
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BASIS PEAK
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BASIS company bought by Intel in March 2014
New product called BASIS PEAK
Release date November 20, 2014
Advertising emphasizes sleep tracking
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DREAM SPORT DG-BT TOP
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Heart-rate monitor with GPS
New from China January 2014 -- How to order?
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ALPHA heart rate monitor
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New in 2012 – gives CONTINUOUS heart-rate
First heart-rate monitor worn as a watch
Created for athletes
www.alphaheartrate.com
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Mio Alpha Heart Rate Monitor
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Watch (time) mode or heart rate mode ONLY
Continuous monitoring of heart rate in HR mode
Requires third party app (MapMyFitness)
GPS from Android Smart phone
Bluetooth 4 communication (low power bluetooth)
30-35 hour battery life
One hour to charge
When battery low, reverts to watch function
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MIO ALPHA CHARGING
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Four brass contacts
Charge from USB port or electrical socket
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BASIS HEALTH TRACKER CHARGING
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Four brass contacts
Charge from USB port or electrical socket
Can wear while charging
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Toronto Canada Dennis
created app for Mio Alpha
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Dennis created Yahoo Group
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CryonicsVitalSignsAlerts
Smart phone for Android operating system (O/S)
Android is an open source O/S (can program)
 iOS on iPod and iPad is not open source
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Dennis has made his code open source for others
When HR stops or slows, cyclically dials phone
numbers in sequence, and leaves SMS messages
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Dennis’s Android App
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Start/Stop Menu includes Settings option
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Dennis’s Android App
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Can dial 3 numbers in cycles and send SMS
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Dennis’s Android App
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Can set upper and lower HR to trigger alarm
Can set number of warning beeps before dialing
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Dennis’s Android App
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Message displayed after hitting “Start”
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Dennis’s Android App
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SMS message gives location from GPS
Phone number omitted for privacy reasons
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Dennis’s Android App
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Message displayed after hitting “Stop”
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Best coverage, January 2014
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MobileHelp Medical Alert System
24/7 call center availability
 Fall detection and emergency response
 GPS
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Electronic Caregiver Inactivity Alarm
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For elderly frail cryonicists living alone
Mio Alpha Heart Rate Monitor
Dennis Mathew’s app for Mio Alpha
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Lost Bluetooth from February 2014
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My Droid Maxx android cell phone lost reliable
Bluetooth connection to MIO ALPHA (GLOBAL)
Worked intermittently until April 2014
“Search for devices” lists available and paired
devices, MIO GLOBAL usually not shown
When MIO GLOBAL displayed as available and
pairing is attempted, get message “Couldn’t pair with
MIO GLOBAL because of an incorrect PIN or
passkey”
No prompt for PIN or passkey
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Moto 360 (September 2014)
Android Wrist-watch app prompts for passkey
 Communicates with cell phone by Bluetooth
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Gives e-mail, steps, weather, cell phone, calls
Heart-rate on command (not continuous)
 Requires once-daily charge
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Lost Bluetooth from February 2014
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Moto 360 easily pairs with passkey
MIO ALPHA support says pairing can only be
done through third party apps like MapMyFitness
MapMyFitness pairs without PIN or passkey
Sweetbeat has paired without PIN or passkey
At the November 2014 Laughlin conference,
working with Dennis I was able to gain a Bluetooth
connection for both my Droid Maxx and Nexus 5
to MIO ALPHA, but only through Dennis’s app,
never directly through Bluetooth.
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Lost Bluetooth from December 2014
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Moto 360 watch easily gains an Android Bluetooth
pairing with my Droid Maxx cell phone with
passkey
MIO ALPHA watch was able to gain Bluetooth
pairing with my Droid Maxx, Nexus 5, and iPAD
without a passkey
The Bluetooth connection was unreliable. More
than once, the connection was lost with both cell
phone devices simultaneously, and ultimately with
all 3 devices. The problem is with MIO ALPHA
Bluetooth.
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MapMyFitness MioAlpha Monitor
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MIO ALPHA says Bluetooth connection only
possible through an app like MapMyFitness
Pairs without prompting for passkey
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Sweetbeat iPAD app
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Resting HR and HRV
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iPAD app with Bluetooth connection to MIO ALPHA
No password requested
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SMART WATCHES FLOODING MARKET
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Too many features
 Apple watch, Pebble, Samsung Gear 2, etc
Most give pulse rate, none continuous
Pair with cell phone, usually proprietary software
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“Coming Soon”

I have been hearing for over 15 years that
The technology is trivial
 There will be soon be a consumer product available
 Cryonicists don’t need to create the product themselves



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2013/2014 has made a big difference
Not just empty promises as before
ALMOST a cryonics-usable vital signs alert system
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Bluetooth problems – soon be solved ?
Panic button, fall detection, and activity monitoring
systems can help many elderly cryonicists NOW
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