Our story
Why the Acticheck® Life-Saving Wristband came to be
For much the same reasons that people do research and come across Acticheck, Karl Gibbs, our founder, wanted a device that could monitor his active ‘solo senior’ mother. He wanted some way of knowing that she was OK each day without coming across as overbearing, so he decided to look at available solutions that:
- Were easy to set up and use – even for the most ‘tech-phobic’ of people
- Had a variety of alerts and notifications, not just a help button
- Covered the home and a large garden, at least
- The ability to play around with settings, so it wouldn’t go off unnecessarily
- Fitted in with his mother’s modern lifestyle, enabling her to remain, and feel, independent
But he couldn’t find anything suitable.
Karl thought technology could achieve something far better for his mother (and others) and teamed up with accomplished engineers, manufacturing experts and award-winning designers.
The concept became the Acticheck life-saving wristband, which has now won its own international design awards and has secured runner-up spot in a global competition run by BT for innovation to support ‘Family, friends and community’.
Acticheck has taken the best features available in other systems and added to them. For instance, our I’m OK checks are unique and are about the simplest way of confirming a wearer is OK in the morning and before bed.
As Acticheck is an internet-based device (with a cellular-enabled system for those without the internet), it is unaffected by the digital switchover as it does not rely on the old copper landlines, unlike many traditional telecare systems.
Being waterproof and with its one year battery life (no need to take it off to charge), the wristband is able to be worn all the time for uninterrupted protection, so we can say:
Whatever happens, Wherever it happens & whenever it happens – help is at hand.
Our timeline
2012: The beginnings of an idea – in a conversation with his mother, the founder realised that he could improve on what was available
2013: Connected with local business advisors to develop offering and put investor pack together. Found talented engineers to progress the idea and make early prototypes
January 2014: Acticheck Ltd was set up as a limited company (Reg:08852416) and the project got underway in an office based in Saffron Walden, south of Cambridge
Summer 2014: Investors found, along with offices, and the serious business of design, tooling and manufacture began
2015: Gained European Regional Development Funding
2015: Patent granted for battery use approach
2016: First systems sold
2016: Won IF Design Award and Good Design/Chicago Athenaeum Award
2017: Acticheck became members of the Telecare Services Association, the industry body which sets standards for technology-enabled care
2017: Came in as Global Runner-up in a competition by BT Infinity Lab to identify the best new products for Family, Friends & Community
2018: The Acticheck smartphone app was developed, enabling wearers to be monitored beyond their home & garden
2024: Moved to larger premises in Fowlmere
2025: Introduced predictive analytics using the regular reports from the wristbands to identify the early signs of potential infection
The journey has been exciting and continues to be. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our products and service, regularly taking on board feedback from our lovely customers.
Who we are
Karl Gibbs - Founder
Karl went to college with a view to becoming a civil engineer but instead of pursuing a degree, decided to become an actor. Three years of training lead to acting work over the next decade, including small parts in The Bill and Coronation Street as well as some ‘eclectic’ theatre work.
When family life beckoned ‘an actors life was no longer for me’ and Karl moved into events organising in the central offices of British Quakers. It was while there that the idea for the Acticheck life-saving wristband first came up.
Karl has also achieved a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Open University.
Bill Garland - Head of Engineering
Bill has over 30 years of experience developing electronic products. With a specialist knowledge of wireless communication he has been the architect of the Acticheck system, undertaking both the hardware and software design.
In his spare time Bill enjoys outdoor pursuits and is a keen cyclist.
and many others…
Our journey has brought us against challenges that were beyond our skills.
We have worked with many experts in their field, without whom Acticheck would not have become reality.
We thank them for their work and their camaraderie.
Other approaches that didn't hit the mark
Pendant alarms
Being worn around the neck, automatic fall detection is either unavailable or unreliable, meaning you have to be capable of pressing the button when you need help. It can also be easily pressed accidentally leading to false alarms.
Many older people also find them stigmatising and so don’t want to wear them and often won’t. They can get in the way during certain activities, so are taken off and not put back on.
Studies have shown that users will report wearing them 80% of the time but only wear them 20% of the time!
Smartwatches like Apple watch
They can do so much but are complex to use and have a short battery life. The wearer needs to be willing and able to wear and operate it and remember to put it back on after charging.
Even then they need to avoid having an emergency when it is on charge.
Because they are designed to do so much, remembering how to trigger an alarm, possibly when the wearer is stressed, could be difficult.
Then there’s the cost – often quite pricey, and, as is the case with Apple, the additional need to have an iPhone and pay for airtime in order for it to work.
‘Internet of things’ monitors
These monitor activity in the home but can be fiddly to install and monitor. They can work well when people have lots of time to assess them.
If a user fell in the garden or putting the bins out, it could take several hours to ‘notice’ and call for help.
This approach may be of use as a last resort when the wearer is unable to actively interact with equipment.