Market Context — Why This Technology, Why Now

The global demand for efficient and safe elder care solutions is surging due to demographic shifts and persistent healthcare labor shortages. This technology offers a critical solution by automating emergency responses in home care and assisted living, reducing operational costs and improving patient outcomes. It aligns perfectly with the growing digital health and remote monitoring market, driven by the need for scalable, high-quality care delivery.

Key Competitive Advantages
01

Optimizes Emergency Assessment: Combines sensor data from the primary caregiver with patient risk assessments to reduce unnecessary notifications by up to 50%.

02

Automated, Hands-Free Notification: Eliminates the need for manual device operation by the primary caregiver during emergencies, significantly reducing effort and enabling rapid response.

03

Strong Uniqueness and Robust IP Protection: Features strong technical uniqueness with only three prior art documents, establishing a robust patent that overcame examiner objections, enabling market leadership.

Market Opportunity
Home Medical & Visiting Care
$1B globally (AI est.)
The aging population is driving a rapid increase in home medical and caregiving needs, making operational efficiency and safety paramount.
Home healthcare providers Visiting care agencies Integrated health service networks
Elderly Care Facilities & Nursing Homes
$650M globally (AI est.)
With chronic staff shortages, facilities urgently need to expedite emergency responses for residents and reduce staff burden.
Assisted living facilities Nursing home operators Senior living community developers
Telemedicine & Monitoring Services
$350M globally (AI est.)
Remote health management and emergency monitoring services leveraging ICT are expanding, showing high compatibility with this technology.
Telehealth platform providers Remote patient monitoring companies Smart home elder care solutions
IP Defensibility — Why Competitors Can't Replicate This
What This Patent Covers

This patent protects a support request control device that combines sensor-derived emergency indicators with patient risk assessments to automatically notify relevant group members. Its claims broadly and specifically cover key components in information and communication for assistance request control, demonstrating a robust and clear scope that overcame examiner objections, ensuring strong market exclusivity.

Competitive White Space

This patent focuses on the control logic for assistance requests. White space exists in developing advanced predictive analytics for preventing emergencies before they occur, or in integrating with broader smart home ecosystems for holistic patient monitoring beyond immediate emergency response.

Economic Impact
~$200K/year estimated operational efficiency and accident risk reduction per facility (est.).
estimated ROI · USD · AI analysis
ROI Calculation Logic

In home healthcare and caregiving, annual costs from inappropriate emergency responses and unnecessary call-outs are estimated at ~$1M per facility (AI est.). This technology could reduce unnecessary dispatches by 200 per year. Assuming a cost of $1,000 per dispatch (AI est.) (including labor, travel, and opportunity cost), this projects to an annual cost reduction of $200K (AI est.).

Speed to Market
6× faster than in-house development
This technology significantly shortens development time by combining general-purpose sensing technology with existing risk assessment data and notification system algorithms. Key technical elements, such as acquiring indicator information based on sensor signals and controlling notifications according to evaluation information, are established. This allows for easy integration as a module into existing systems, potentially saving adopters approximately 2.5 years compared to in-house development.
Competitive Positioning

X: Operational Efficiency
Y: Emergency Response Reliability

Business Models & Applications
💻 Software Licensing
Provide system software incorporating this technology under a license model to home medical and caregiving service providers, ensuring recurring revenue.
☁️ SaaS Model Service
Offer this technology as a cloud-based SaaS, enabling a monthly subscription model for easy adoption by businesses of various sizes.
🔗 API for Existing System Integration
Provide an API integration module for existing electronic health record and care record systems, enhancing the value of licensee's current platforms.
Adjacent Application Opportunities
🏭 スマート工場
Worker Emergency Support in Hazardous Factory Zones
Monitor the biometric data and movements of workers in hazardous factory zones using sensors. Upon detecting anomalies, the system automatically notifies nearby safety personnel for immediate assistance. This could significantly enhance worker safety by preventing accidents and enabling rapid initial response, potentially reducing incident rates by 20%.
👷 建設現場
Safety Monitoring & Emergency Alert for High-Altitude Construction Workers
Sensors worn by high-altitude construction workers detect signs of falls or sudden illness. This data is cross-referenced with worker health status and experience levels. If high urgency is determined, the system automatically alerts site supervisors or medical personnel, reducing the risk of serious accidents by an estimated 15-25%.
🚨 警備・防犯
Automated Emergency Assistance for Patrol Security Personnel
Continuously monitor the physical condition (e.g., heart rate, falls) of security personnel patrolling large areas via sensors. This information is combined with risk assessments, such as encounter risk or officer proficiency. In case of an anomaly, the system automatically requests assistance from the security command center or nearby backup units, enhancing officer safety and enabling rapid incident response.
Integration Roadmap — Estimated 9-Month Deployment
Phase 1: Requirements & Validation
Duration: 2 months
Evaluate integration possibilities with the licensee's existing systems and define optimal deployment requirements. Validate the suitability of the core sensor data acquisition and risk assessment logic.
Phase 2: Prototype & PoC
Duration: 4 months
Develop a prototype based on defined requirements. Conduct a Proof of Concept (PoC) in a real-world environment to measure effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.
Phase 3: Deployment & Optimization
Duration: 3 months
Implement the system into the production environment, incorporating PoC results. Optimize the system through continuous effect verification and operational data analysis post-deployment.
Technical Feasibility
This technology's core elements, "acquiring indicator information based on sensor-detected signals" and "notification control according to evaluation information," are highly feasible. They can integrate with general-purpose wearable sensor devices and existing electronic health record or care record systems via API, functioning as a software module. This approach requires minimal capital investment and is relatively easy to implement on existing IT infrastructure, indicating low technical hurdles.
Success Scenario
Upon adoption, this technology could reduce emergency response times for home care staff by an average of 30%. This would enable the provision of higher quality services to more users, alleviate staff psychological burden, and potentially improve retention rates. Ultimately, adopting organizations could achieve enhanced service quality and optimized operational costs simultaneously.
Patent Record
APPLICATION NO.
特願2020-102107
REGISTRATION NO.
7496116
FILING DATE
2020/06/12
GRANT DATE
2024/05/29
EXPIRATION DATE
2040/06/12
PATENT HOLDER
学校法人福岡大学
Examination History
2023年05月23日
出願審査請求書
2024年03月19日
拒絶理由通知書
2024年04月19日
意見書
2024年04月19日
手続補正書（自発・内容）
2024年05月14日
特許査定