The button I have in mind is a momentary button housed inside a 3 or 4 inch long by 3/4 inch cylinder, with the button at the top and the wires comming out the bottom.
I believe I have seen a similar button in movies where the user is holding down the normally red button as some sort of dead man switch.
This is not my intention. Infact it is quite the opposite. Last year my father passed away after suffering a broken back above his diaphragm, because it was above the diaphragm he was unable to cough and clear his lungs. Sadly the only solution to this problem was a breathing tube and the subsequent binding of his arms to prevent the removal of the tube. As a result he was not able to communicate with us or the nurses. I believe his inability to communicate was the cause of him falling into a psychosis that eventually caused his passing.
I would like this button to use as part of a system I am building that will make use of Assistive Context-Aware Toolkit (ACAT) made by Intel and used by Stephen Hawkins.
I am aware that the environment supports cameras and there are other more useful buttons but my knowledge and finances are limited and I just want to make a very simple tool that will help the next poor soul that finds themselves in a similar situation to my Dad's.
Thanks.
You also might want to look at shops selling adaptive tech such as https://enablingdevices.com, which has, for example https://enablingdevices.com/product/thumb-switch/ or https://enablingdevices.com/product/pinch-switch/
1) the "free" ones, that have no outer protection (and that can be thus activated by - say - a slap with a open hand)
2) the "safe" ones, that have an outer rim that prevents the button to be presssed by anything bigger than the actual button diameter (only finger, pencil , etc. will activate it)
There is a third one, sometimes called "mushroom push button" that is of the "free" type, even easier to activate.
Check this catalog page:
https://www.otto-controls.com/products/electromechanical-swi...
once you have chosen the type you want, you will be able to find a similar one by many different manufacturers/retailers.
Unfortunately no good deed goes unpunished these days.
I visited the hospital to get some feedback on my idea and to possibly get an old nurse call button. I was disappointed with the CMA response I received. The hospital can not provide any equipment that has not been approved and in order to be approved the supplier and product must be listed. They thanked me for my generous offer but were not able to accept anything I brought in due to safety(And I suspect legal reasons)
The suggested I look into making a phone app that patients" loved ones could download and use while visiting...
Thanks again for the responses.
Just looking through digikey filtered by termination style (wire/cable leads) pulls up quite a few promising looking results: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/pushbutton-switch...
It's a bit pricey but maybe this style is what you're describing? https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/switchcraft-inc/9...
You can find them in a variety of styles with different parameters (usually for things like waterproofing, action force, number of switches, etc).
Here is an example: https://www.amazon.com/Momentary-Button-Panel-Mount-Black/dp...
The keyword to keep in mind is "panel mount."
Monetary switches can be had for next to nothing, you just need a housing (for a one off I would use a plastic pill bottle).
Will look out for your link.
https://www.amazon.com/Hand-Held-Button-Switch-30-825/dp/B00...
So, something like this?: https://www.newark.com/eaton/8411k7/switch-pushbutton-spst-4...
They can screw into something, maybe cut threads into a tube.