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Lifeline Systems, Inc. was founded in Boston, MA in 1974 by Gerontologist Dr. Andrew S. Dibner and his wife, Sociologist Dr. Susan S. Dibner. == History == Dibner, a psychology professor at Boston University, was on sabbatical at Duke University in 1972 when he conceived the idea that, if an elderly or disabled person falls and/or needs help, it could be of life-saving benefit to have a technology in their home that could summon an ambulance for them – even if they could not get to a phone.〔Dietz, Jean., ''Medical Care at the Push of a Button'', The Boston Globe, p. B15, October 30, 1988〕 On Nov. 2, 1974, Dibner filed his initial patent entitled "Automatic Alarm System" and the U.S. patent #3,989,900 was awarded Nov. 2, 1976. Other patents followed. The wireless push-button-activated automatic alarm system became known as “Personal Emergency Response Service (PERS)” and Lifeline Systems Inc. grew to provide PERS across the USA and Canada.〔Fisk, Malcolm J., ''Social Alarms to Telecare'', The Policy Press, University of Bristol, UK, 2003, p. 69〕 Dibner is considered to be the father of PERS in the United States.〔Fisk, Malcolm J., ''Social Alarms to Telecare'', The Policy Press, University of Bristol, UK, 2003, pp. 69, 133〕 In 1975, Lifeline Systems Inc., together with Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged in Roslindale, MA and the Boston University Gerontology Center, received a grant from the National Center for Health Services Research to test the efficacy of PERS. The report,〔Sherwood, Sylvia and John N. Morris (1980), ''A Study of the Effects of an Emergency Alarm and Response System for the Aged: A Final Report'', Grant No. HS01788, National Center for Health Services Research〕 which compared older persons living alone with PERS and a control group, showed important reductions in the need for nursing home days along with enhanced quality of life and savings in the cost of health care. L. Dennis Shapiro,〔''RLE Currents'', MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics, Vol. 8, Number 1, Spring 1996, pp. 10–11; http://www.rle.mit.edu/media/currents/8-1.pdf〕 joined the company in the fall of 1978 as CEO (1978–88) and Chairman (1978–2006). He attracted venture financing and initiated product redesign embodying new patents.〔http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&TERM1=lifeline+systems&FIELD1=ASNM&co1=AND&TERM2=&FIELD2=&d=PTXT〕 Marketing was directed to hospitals and other healthcare organizations which began to include PERS as a component of outreach and community wellness. In these early years, each hospital operated its own call center at a place that had 24×7 coverage, such as the switchboard or the emergency room. Lifeline Systems provided call center equipment, subscriber units and training of installer and monitoring personnel.〔Montgomery, C.; ''Personal Response Systems in the United States'', ''Home Health Care Services Quarterly'', Vol 13, Issue 3–4, 1993〕 At the time of its IPO in 1983, Lifeline Systems reported programs at 528 hospitals and other healthcare providers, and had shipped 21,931 subscriber units.〔Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Prospectus, Lifeline Systems, Inc., July 27, 1983〕 To service growth, Lifeline developed high-capacity PERS call center technology and offered central monitoring to its customers.〔 Arthur Phipps became CEO 1989–1992. In 1991 Lifeline Systems received the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence.〔Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence; http://www.shingoprize.org〕 Ron Feinstein was CEO 1993–2006, a period of internal growth complemented by acquisitions. Lifeline Systems, Inc. was acquired by Royal Philips Electronics in 2006, at which time it reported PERS programs with 2,500 healthcare providers across the United States and Canada, and central monitoring of close to 470,000 subscribers.〔''Philips to acquire Personal Emergency Response company Lifeline Systems, Inc.'', January 19, 2006; http://www.newscenter.philips.com/main/standard/about/news/press/article-15254.wpd〕 The merger took place on March 23, 2006.〔''Philips closes acquisition of Lifeline Systems'', March 23, 2006; http://www.newscenter.philips.com/main/standard/about/news/press/archive/2006/article-15354.wpd〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lifeline Systems, Inc.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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