We shake our heads in wonder when reminded that John Lennon would have turned 70 last year. The aging of Americans is a story told and told again, but it doesn’t always hit home until thinking about our peers in this way, or when we are suddenly faced with the prospect of caring for our elderly parents.

There are approximately 40 million Americans aged 65 and older today, and there will be 70 million by 2030. By 2040, there will be more personal emergency response systems (PERS) sold than home alarm systems, believes Mark Gottlieb, president of LogicMark LLC, Fairfax Station, Va.

Savvy business leaders are gearing up for this major demographic shift by developing products and services for older populations. LogicMark LLC is one such business. Its LifeSentry product is a PERS designed to be sold by dealers because it is based on a recurring revenue business model.

LifeSentry has several great features, including carrying UL1635 and UL1637 listings,  but what’s most unique about it is that the pendant the user carries or wears is actually a two-way voice unit. Gottlieb calls it “the world’s smallest cordless phone.”

According to LogicMark, “With a standard personal emergency response system, you are limited by the location of the base station because you have to be within range to hear the call center talking to you. If you are too far from the base, you cannot hear, or more importantly, tell them what the emergency is.”

LifeSentry’s two-way voice pendant extends that range. The system’s base station plugs into any standard telephone jack and will allow you to communicate from within many hundreds of feet of the base station. The actual range, Gottlieb describes, is approximately 600 ft. line-of-sight, or a 5,000 sq. ft. home and another 100 ft. into the yard.

SDM had the opportunity to observe LifeSentry’s range firsthand recently at Gottlieb’s office in rural Virginia. After establishing communication with the central station and putting the system into test mode, Gottlieb walked out of his office and into the yard wearing the two-way pendant. From about 50 feet away from the indoor base station, he checked the voice connection with the central station operator and she confirmed that she could still hear him well. He moved further into the yard, to about 120 feet. Again, communication between Gottlieb’s outdoor two-way pendant and indoor base station was loud and clear. Finally, Gottlieb moved all the way to the end of the yard, about 300 feet, and the two-way communication checked out fine.

Battery power in the two-way unit provides up to several hours of talk time and over four months on a charge, while a spare battery continually recharges in the base station and can be swapped out when needed. The system communicates in the standard Contact ID format and even the 4x2 format (which has a better success rate with VoIP systems).

Another unique feature is LifeSentry’s new Emergency Wall Communicator which allows for a permanent mounting option in a bathroom (unit is water-resistant) or other location. This accessory is an industry-first, Gottlieb said.

LogicMark can private label both components and literature for dealers and their customers. “Our private label program for larger customers is becoming a big hit­, that is where we can imprint the customer’s logo on the pendant and base unit as well as customize the packaging and instructions,” Gottlieb said.

LifeSentry is sold through distributors ADI, SES, Silmar Electronics and Tri-Ed/Northern Video Distribution. Or, for further information, visit www.logicmarksecurity.com.