ShareThisIt was 10 years ago when Dr. David Albert was in the basement of his home working on a wireless heart monitor he planned to use during surgery for his daughter, Kathryn, when she noticed the fire alarm was chirping.
The pair assumed the battery was low. So Albert went upstairs to replace it, while his daughter stayed with the heart monitor.
It was then that the 13-year-old noticed the monitor was tracking the fire alarm in their Crown Heights, Okla., home, Albert said.
That accident led to a decade-long effort to create a fire-alarm clock to benefit the deaf, elderly and others who might not be awakened by traditional sound- or light-based alarms.
"What began as an accidental discovery has evolved into a new chapter in fire-safety technology," Albert said. "It's thrilling to see this new technology finally available to people who need it the most."
Albert's Lifetone HL Bedside Fire Alarm and Clock was released into the market this month. It listens for the sound from standard fire alarms, and then broadcasts its own signal at the bedside.
The Lifetone HL also includes a bed shaker, which produces strong, intermittent vibration. The shaking is designed to aid those with profound or fluctuating hearing loss who may not reliably hear and wake up to the signal alone.
Albert is no stranger to the world of invention. His work included the wireless heart monitor he was testing 10 years ago with his daughter, who is now a senior at Harvard. He reports her operation went well.
At the time, the scientist and expert in biomedical engineering and cardiovascular research headed Data Critical, which went public shortly after his daughter's surgery. The company was acquired by General Electric in 2001, where he worked until Lifetone's predecessor, InnovAlarm, was formed in 2004.
Lifetone Technology is a client of i2E Inc., a state-funded nonprofit corporation that mentors many of the state's new technology-based companies.
"Lifetone's success further demonstrates the diverse technologies that receive support within the Oklahoma startup community," said Jim Rogers, director of enterprise services at i2E.
"Any technology with market value and hardworking, skilled entrepreneurs can find both public and private partners ready to help."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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