a call to the configured number of a friend or family member. Some systems will send an SMS message to configured contacts. Some systems provide 24x7x365 professional monitoring. The monitoring service for medical alarms (central station) is a call center facility that is staffed by trained professionals. These professionals are available at all times to receive calls from the medical alarm system. Monitoring service centers that are approved by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) have internal backup systems to add redundancy. Some monitoring services employ trained medical operators enabling them to better evaluate the severity of medical requests. In most less developed countries however, response to medical alarms are slow. Current and future trends A Florida State University research team is currently working on an Android device to be worn by the user that not only can be used as a typical medical alert monitoring system but has fall detection software built into it. The system is designed to monitor the user's location, position, and movement in the event a fall occurs. New fall detection technologies are being integrated into watches, pendants, hearing aids, and wall mounted devices that do not need to be worn by an individual. Fall sensing/fall detection Detecting a fall can be from more than one point of view, covering both during and after the fall: observation, seeing the fall. post event, seeing the person prone on the floor or at the bottom of the steps. by detection of compensatory behaviour using electroencephalography. by a device, detector or sensor on the person, which detects a sudden movement. Costs Aside from one time cost for hardware, there are often ongoing fees and sometimes per-activation charges. Some or all of these may be partially funded by reductions on insurance or by an annual prepayment when compared to paying monthly. One time outlays: Aside from direct expenditures for sensors, options exist for base-stations and auto-dialers. Ongoing fees: These range from zero (self-monitoring) to professional monitoring services. Fraud Federal and State charges have been brought against firms for various forms of fraud involving false promises, improper billing and violations of Do Not Call laws. Operationally, those systems that malfunction and for which service is not done on a timely basis can result in other problems: "some localities will fine you if your system cries wolf." Medical alarms in pop culture "I've fallen and I can't get up!" was a catchphrase from a