JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Background:

Older adults living alone are at increased risks during medical emergencies, particularly due to delayed detection, information transmission, and physical access to the home. Digital health and Internet of Things–based technologies offer opportunities to strengthen emergency response systems; however, evidence on the real-world implementation and performance of integrated home-based emergency assistance platforms remains limited.

Objective:

Objective:

This study aims to describe the deployment and performance of a smart emergency assistance system for older adults living alone, and to evaluate key implementation outputs and performance indicators under real-world conditions.

Methods:

Methods:

We implemented an emergency assistance system integrating the Internet of Things, 5G technology, and mobile internet., A smart emergency button served as the core user-facing device, while a hospital-based rescue management platform functioned as the central coordination hub. The implementation strategy focused on rapid signal transmission, automated multi-channel notification, and precise location tracking to support home-based emergency response. System performance was assessed using predefined key performance indicators, including response time, notification success, positioning accuracy, and operational efficiency.

Results:

Results:

When the intelligent distress button was pressed continuously for at least 3 seconds, distress signals were transmitted to the hospital rescue management platform within 5 seconds. Notifications were automatically sent to the emergency medical services (120 in China) and family contacts, with confirmation feedback completed within 10 seconds. Upon arrival at the scene, rescue personnel were able to obtain GPS-based location information with an error of less than 10 meters, and system-enabled door unlocking was completed within 1 minute. The system demonstrated low hardware cost, low power consumption, with a 100% success rate in distress signal triggering during testing.

Conclusions:

Conclusions:

This implementation demonstrates the feasibility and scalability of a smart emergency assistance system for older adults living alone. By integrating emergency alerting, access control, and hospital-side coordination, the system supports rapid and efficient home-based emergency response and shows potential for scalable deployment in aging communities.