Submitted by Lyndsey Allender
Published: November 11, 2024
Author: Claire Swedberg
Courtesy of Shareware
www.sharewearshop.com
Florida technology startup Sharewear is offering a NFC-based wristband to digitize health information and contacts for vulnerable people. The medical band is a consumer-based product that the company is selling on Amazon as well as its website. But companies and public agencies have been buying the products for wider safety and security efforts.
The Volusia County company launched in 2024 to solve a problem triggered by a family member the year before, said Amanda Anderson, Sharewear founder and CEO. Her father-in-law was suffering from co-morbidities, and the family was concerned about medical personnel having access to all his relevant health information.
In time, Anderson realized the problem is a universal one for vulnerable people. “We were looking into what we could do in the event of emergency, to let somebody know a person has XYZ [medical conditions],” she said.
While existing medical emergency bracelets have printed or etched information on them, some individuals simply have too much health information to be displayed on a standard medical bracelet.
To solve this issue, Anderson investigated bracelets with QR codes that could help users access data with a smartphone. But printed codes could be rubbed or chipped off, or otherwise damaged.
“I knew that NFC existed because I’ve seen it used with digital business cards, and so I thought how can we use that and target markets that [serve] vulnerable people?” she recalled.
The approach focused on providing NFC-based data related to kids, the elderly or those with medical co-morbidities, chronic conditions or special needs.
Sharewear’s team built their proprietary software and began manufacturing a wristband with a built-in 13.56 MHz NFC-chip encoded with a unique ID that could be captured with the Sharewear software, via a smartphone, and linked to related data.
The company sells wristbands as well as other form factors: from watchband charms similar to Croc Jibbitz, to tags for pets and custom keychains, each with the NFC chip embedded inside. The products cost between $21 and $30.
Once a buyer receives the band or similar device, they use their phone to tap the wireless icon and automatically access the Sharewear website where they can create a free digital profile. The system can be set up by an adult, including a caregiver or the parent of a child wearing the device.
The content the users provide is customizable so that they “can create the profile with discretionary information that they would want somebody to know in the event of an emergency,” Anderson said. That can mean health details, allergies, conditions and to call if the individual is found and can’t respond —such as a small child or person with special needs.
If a bystander finds an individual in need who’s wearing the bracelet, they use their phone to tap the NFC symbol and the phone is directed to the URL where they can view the relevant information. In the case of a small child or an individual with dementia, that could be the phone number and name for the emergency contact they can use to summon help, said Anderson.
The company has released an optional subscription that costs $4.99 per month for more services. With the subscription, the software collects data each time the wristband has been tapped with a smartphone, and an alert about that event can be sent via a text message to a parent or other relative, along with the geolocation of the device reading the wristband.
The wristband is designed to operate as a social and business networking tool as well, for adults who want to use it that way, said Anderson.
Health data can be secured with a password, while a person’s personal identifying information, such as name, phone and e-mail, is accessible to others who tap their phone. In that way, a digital business card could be created for conferences, for example.
“Let’s say they have a bracelet and they want to use it for business marketing, but they also have pertinent health information,” Anderson explained. “When they’re out networking they can make health information password protected … but they can turn that feature off as soon as they leave that business meeting.”
So far seven law enforcement agencies and fire districts in Volusia and Flagler counties have started acquiring the wristbands for use by members of the public, according to Anderson. Sharewear also has a contract with the Volusia County School District and County Sheriffs Office to provide 500 wrist bands to school age children with special needs for parents who request them.
“We are continuing to spread the word and educate the public because we understand that for NFC there is an educational component,” explained Anderson. “Its just a matter getting the public to that point where everybody understands and readily knows what that NFC symbol means.”
Since launching the wristband, Anderson says, sales have “far surpassed what we have expected” in the early months.
Unlike some popular tracking devices like Apple Air Pods, the devices can only be read by an NFC-enabled smartphone within less than four centimeters. That passive functionality provides several benefits—one being the lack of battery required in the band. It makes the band waterproof and able to sustain environments that active children can expose them to.
Additionally, the passive NFC response ensures the system shares information only with those specifically interacting with the wearer.
Apple Air Pods and similar active trackers transmit data to area phones via Bluetooth which enables active GPS tracking, but isn’t designed to transmit data to rescue workers or good Samaritans.
“We tell everybody that everything has a purpose—if it makes you feel better to use both devices or put an Apple Air Tag in their pocket and [the Sharewear band] on their wrists that that’s an option too. Whatever it takes to feel safe,” said Anderson.
