Main Target Groups for the V.A.P. are:
Small children and adults that cannot swim (yet): This was the initial target group that Jürgen Puls, the CEO and founder of Pulsivision had in mind when he created the VitalAquaProtect (V.A.P.).
Jürgen is a swim teacher and runs two public swimming pools. With over 40 years of experience in the field, he is faced with the dangers of drowning every day. And unfortunately the risk is getting higher over time: Less children have access to proper swim instructions as public pools and affordable swimming lessons are becoming scarce, in the US and elsewhere. At the same time, more and more people enjoy their spare time by the water, in pools, on lakes and rivers as well as on the beach.
Unfortunately this has resulted in a steep increase of drowning cases worldwide. Nevertheless, there still is not a single product on the market that saves children and non-swimming adults from drowning. The VAP of Pulsivision is the vital step to prevent drowning.
Autism: Children and adults affected by autism unfortunately have a great tendency to escape from their homes. Once unsupervised, they are attracted by water without having any comprehension about the dangers of water.
Sadly, over 50% of all persons with autism show this behavior and thus e.g. in the US drowning is the no. 1 cause of death for autistic children under the age of 15. The parents/caretakers of these children are under immense stress as they have to ensure constant supervision.
The affected children have no fear or sense of danger and in contrast, many times show a high drive to break through all security measures to keep them enclosed. Autism is on the rise, worldwide experts agree on a rate of 1 to 100. In the US alone there are 1 million people with Autism today, surrounded by thousands of lakes, millions of private pools and thousands of miles of coastline, where most of the population lives. The market of “wandering technology” is thus booming in the US right now.
All the products available put a sensor somewhere on the body that helps locating an affected person that has run away. Unfortunately, often times it is already too late to locate a missing person safely by the time the disappearance is noticed.
The V.A.P. is the only product that protects against drowning and actively alarms the rescue forces with a precise location.
Alzheimer/Dementia: Unfortunately the tendency to wander is also very present in people affected by Alzheimer or Dementia. The feel the urge to “go home” and thus wander away from safe surroundings.
Up to 60% of all affected show this kind of behavior at some point in the course of their illness. This of course also entails a high risk of drowning as the person wanders unoriented and has often lost the skill of swimming in the course of the illness. Here too, the caregivers are under permanent stress to safeguard the patients from this life-threatening behavior.
As said under Autism, for this target group there are also technical solutions on the market, like a shoe with GPS locating technology.
However, most times the disappearance is only noted with a considerable time lag and until found, the person could be dead from drowning already. Only the active life-saving components of the V.A.P. will prevent these death cases.
Triathlon: During Triathlon competition, one of the three parts of competition is taking place in open water. To compete successfully, many training units are necessary and thus, triathletes have to swim long distances on their own in open water during training frequently.
Very experienced and successful triathletes have confirmed to us that in spite of the very good state of fitness of their bodies, they have been in situations during training several times which could have possibly ended in drowning.
It is hard to grasp, but unfortunately a high risk of drowning is also present during competition. Hundreds of athletes are in the water at the same time after the mass start and hits to the back of the head of any swimmer occur on a regular basis. This can lead to unconsciousness and submerging under the water.
Other athletes swim on the surface and thus unknowingly keep the body under water. By the time the body resurfaces, death has occurred and any rescue mission will be futile. Only the V.A.P. could diminish one of the greatest accident threats in Triathlon.
Apart from the above mentioned main target groups, there are numerous other capabilities for the V.A.P., especially in water sport and military forces.