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Comment Central system (Score 1) 161

The only useful system would be operated by the facility. It would involve a server tracking the residents. It would feel somewhat like the Star Trek computer. Older efforts would have involved the resident carrying a card or pen that the system could ping (and such systems exist), but cards can be forgotten by residents, and existing designs can't tell which way the resident is looking, which is important for being able to give instructions like "turn around". Modern computer vision techniques might be up to the task, allowing tracking residents without need for a non-removable wrist strap, and could also give facing direction. A plus, from the facility's perspective would be faster detection of falls, for example. Control of many locally placed speakers permits targeting instructions. Control of indicator lights and/or monitors could assist in giving directions. Such a system could integrate with more invasive monitoring (pulse, breathing, etc.) for residents in worse shape. It would be a big project, and a potentially lucrative one for a supplier of medical aids, like GE or a lucky startup. But there is no substitute for staff, and one possible "actuator" is informing staff that a resident appears to be wandering, distressed, or incapacitated.

Comment Not really a lap desk, but... (Score 1) 276

So long as you're using it from a chair, and not in bed, I like those TV tables that used to be advertised on UHF. The legs are L shaped, with the vertical being a telescoping pair of tubes with sprung pins pushing out through holes in the tubes to lock it at any of several heights, or at right angles short as part of folding flat for storage. I'm a big guy, and I find the heights adequate. The table top can be placed at three different angles, the middle one being horizontal. I tried the tipped toward me angle to see if it made typing more comfortable, but I find flat is best. With my Satellite M45-S165 there is adequate room for a mouse. I got it at a Brooks for $30, though I've seen one for $20 recently (don't know if it's identical). I wouldn't want to try to fit it in a laptop bag or backpack, but it's no problem to transport in my Honda Insight.

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