Port Orange startup Sharewear offers fully digital medical bands with NFC technology

How can a fully digitalized medical alert band work without a phone application or monthly subscription fee?

A Port Orange resident and entrepreneur found the answer.

Amanda Anderson founded her startup, Sharewear, in April and its main products are medical alert bands and bracelets designed to help vulnerable populations in the community, such as elderly residents, especially those who suffer from memory loss conditions, special needs residents, children and others.

"I visualize this product as giving a voice to those that cannot communicate their needs when they need to or when they would like to," Anderson said in an interview. "They're not always able to communicate their needs or what it is they need to obtain in an emergency situation. This band provides them with that ability, it empowers them."

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Despite just a few months on the market, business has been doing well, according to Lyndsey Allender, Sharewear's chief operating officer, as the company focuses on educating the community about how their bands work and how residents can benefit.

Since starting earlier this year, Sharewear has donated more than 150 of its medical bands to law enforcement agencies in Volusia and Flagler counties and even St. Augustine in an effort to spread the word.

How do Sharewear medical bands work?

The most distinctive feature of the Sharewear medical bands is their use of near field communication (or NFC) technology.

Every band is equipped with an NFC chip, commonly seen today in credit cards, which contains information that is only accessible when tapped by an NFC reader.

For example, when a parent buys a Sharewear band for their child, they have to scan a QR code on the product, which will take them to the company's proprietary software program built into the chip. That program consists of an online profile form, which can be filled with as much information about their child as they want.

An NFC reader, which includes most iPhones and Android systems, would direct anyone who taps their phone on the child's medical band to their Sharewear profile, giving them instant access to the parent's contact information and/or instructions on how to help the child.

"That is why our product is different than any different medical band," Allender said. "Because you don't have to display your medical information, our your emergency contact information, or whatever you want to share. All of the customer's information is discretionary on the NFC chip."

There is no maintenance necessary on the NFC chip, and customers need only pay for bands themselves — there are no additional monthly fees, Allender said.

"Your data profile is free for life," she added. "You can tap it to your phone 100 times a day and say, 'Here's my new phone number,' or 'Now my mom is in a different memory care unit' — anything can be changed on it."

That is also how people in the autism spectrum, or those who struggle to communicate verbally, could benefit from having a Sharewear band, whether they get lost, have been stopped by law enforcement or need assistance for first responders, Allender said.

'We realize there is a learning curve'

The band has features that help it stand out and make its purpose noticeable enough so as not to get overlooked.

"It does, on the band, say 'Tap here,' and it has the universal NFC symbol on them and the universal medical symbol as well," Allender said.

Besides a QR code printed on the bands, customers can also choose to include what the company calls PopIns, which can be attached to the band. These can say "If lost, please tap here," "I'm non-verbal," or alert tappers to a user's heart condition, diabetes, brain injury, etc.

"All of those are just signals to the first responder or to whoever finds them or is caring for them that there is more going on, and they can get that information on the band."

But ensuring people recognize the bands for what they are is an important step for the company, Allender said.

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They have met with fire and police chiefs across Volusia County to educate them on the bands before making their donations.

"Education is a huge component of this, because we do realize there is a learning curve," she said. "NFC knowledge is just starting to be known in the masses."

Goal is to make Sharewear 'a household name'

Anderson came up with the idea for the band last year after hearing a suggestion that her successful bachelorette party bands business on Etsy could be applied to a different purpose.

"I started creating bands and bracelets that had Venmo QR codes on them for the bachelorettes," Anderson said. "They would wear them, and they would say things like, 'Buy the bride a drink' and they would take them to Nashville, to Las Vegas."

In that effort, she was successful to the point of stopping her nursing career to focus on her online sales business.

Last August, her mother-in-law came to her after her father-in-law fell ill, asking if she had any ideas to apply the same concept of her bachelorette bands to help people with medical needs.

"I had already been thinking, 'I really don't want to be making these bridal bracelets my whole life,' so it was perfect timing," Anderson said. "It got my wheels turning and I said, 'How can I bring this technology to these vulnerable communities and people who could really benefit from them?'"

While educating the community about their product has been the focus lately, Anderson said the goal is to make Sharewear "a household name."

"The more people that know about this product, know how to use it and know the benefits that could come with it, the more beneficial it's going to become for those who wear it."

They are also in talks for a possible partnership with Volusia County Schools, Anderson said.

"We have a great idea, and we're super excited."

For information about Sharewear and how to buy a band, visit sharewearshop.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Sharewear medical bands, based in Florida, use NFC tech without apps