Bob worked with our team in the midst of the rubble, plastic sheeting and plaster dust of our office fit out as together we transformed his unique device into a product that could be manufactured to serve a real need in our community.

Bob’s passion and commitment to his task is infectious as he busts his gut to create a safe environment for those that need assistance undertaking everyday tasks.

Bob’s F.A.S.T. system monitors the space above a person lying in a bed and sends a signal over the nurse call system in a hospital ward to alert nursing staff when a person is restless and likely to sit up or attempt to leave their bed.  Restlessness, including rolling over, stretching, and other movement, is generally the first sign that indicates a person is waking up and the F.A.S.T. system is designed to detect these signs of restlessness. Upon detection of these signs, an alert is raised. This alert escalates as the restless behaviour continues and increases to a point where the person is upright in their bed.  This provides nursing staff time to be in attendance during the dangerous time when a person attempts to leave their bed.

It has long been recognised need that some people require assistance to move from their beds safely.  Other sensor mat type systems will detect when a person leaves their bed, but they alert staff too late and once the major danger has passed.  The F.A.S.T system is superior as it alerts carers before a person leaves their bed, does not come into physical contact with the occupant of the bed, is robust and reliable and does not require the regular cleaning and or changing  that mat based systems require.
 

The new design needed to match the robustness of the aluminium construction of his earlier models, providing a secure and integrated housing for the sensors, electronics and switches.  The performance of the system is significantly affected by the mounting and positioning of the sensors in the housing and their subsequent position relative to the bed.

The F.A.S.T. system has been designed to be mounted to the large range of beds and bed heads used in hospitals and hospices and needed to be protected from impacts and damage as beds are moved around the wards.

The new design successfully reduces the manufacturing cost for the equipment and suits the hospital and care environments in which it will operate.

Bob has long been involved in helping people with disabilities and his inspiration for F.A.S.T. comes from his terrible personal experiences with the effects that falls have the health and safety of people.

He has more clinical trials of the F.A.S.T. starting soon and he has hundreds of older units in various facilities around the country.