Medical alert device

MedFlash keychain attachment ensures information is on hand in case of emergency

A Palm City, Fla. company has introduced a new device that will make your medical history easy to access for emergency personnel in case you get hurt while out on your personal watercraft or anywhere else.

Connectyx Technologies Corp. created MedFlash, a simple USB storage device that can be attached to a keychain. Should you suffer a medical emergency on or off the water, emergency personnel can access your information by plugging the Med Flash into a USB port and viewing your emergency data file.

“What sets the MedFlash apart from the other personal medical devices is that it’s a web portal,” Connectyx director of marketing Lisa Merkow told PersonalWatercraft.com. “You can sync your MedFlash device with the web portal and upload and download the data so it’s always correct.”

MedFlash is designed to work in any USB port and can be viewed without any special software. The one-gigabyte flash drive is about the same length as a house key. A credit card version is also available and can be carried in a billfold with your ID cards.

Merkow says the MedFlash is an ideal product for just about anyone riding a personal watercraft, motorcycle or other powersports machine.

“Anybody who has a personal medical issue that they feel would be a matter of life or death should they become incapacitated in any way,” says Merkow. “A diabetic, someone who’s had a transplant, someone with a severe allergy, such as penicillin. Things you would want emergency personnel to know in the event you were incapacitated.”

The MedFlash is very simple to use and is meant to make things easy for people who regularly visit the doctor’s office, the company says.

“Right now you’re responsible every time you go to the doctor to sit and fill out that form and give all the medications that you’re taking, all of your personal history, everything the doctor needs to know,” says Merkow. “You can pop in your MedFlash, print out your information and take it to the doctor with you.”

Doctors also have the ability to connect to the web portal and update your MedFlash for you after each visit.

Beyond your medical history, allergies, current medications and contact information for you and your doctors, the MedFlash also plenty of room for images. You can upload a picture of yourself for identification purposes, as well as X-rays, an MRI or anything else you think might be useful in a medical emergency.