Checking out startups offerings that can benefit adults -- including older adults. StartUp Health is a New York-based accelerator fostering 'health and wellness innovation.' Its purpose is to help entrepreneurs accepted into its Academy gain "access to customers, capital, resources, and a peer group support network." As many are observing today, if it's useful and technology-based, a startup seems likely to categorize themselves as 'health and wellness'. And some of these health and wellness innovators are specifically targeting aspects of care that can be very helpful to all, but could be particularly useful for older adults. All information comes from the websites of the companies themselves:
Watching PERS and consumer health tech industries is like watching parallel worlds. You have to notice. Although offerings are now mobile, they are not moving closer to consumer health tech. Wander from website to website of the leading players – Philips, Tunstall, ADT, Lifestation, LifeAlert, and so on, in the self-described Medical Alarm industry, regardless of who the company is, services are described and compared in this chart by VRI in the context of the 'emergency' dimension of Personal Emergency Response System/Service. Okay, you’ve looked over the laundry list of companies in the VRI-crafted chart. Now add a few more mobile PERS offerings that aren’t on the chart – like Verizon Sure Response, Tunstall,GreatCall’s Five Star, MobileHelp, AT&T and Numera. Verizon’s site offers 'convenience calling' (that is, minutes that can be used for non-emergencies); Numera’s site mentions a future health aspect of its Libris offering; and AT&T’s site talks about Health. Otherwise, the emphasis is about averting or responding to an emergency.
At least one-third of adults over 65 in North America fall each year and this is a serious issue that often leads to many other severe and chronic concerns for older adults.* To provide peace of mind for the elderly and their families, AT&T EverThere®, a small wearable device, can detect falls and quickly identify location.
Last year, CES in Pajamas, this year CES from the kitchen. Everyone who is anyone in the tech world wants to be at CES…well, almost everyone. Remember a 2012 health tech article called CES in Pajamas? Check out TelecareAware's analysis of write-ups in The CES of Health or MDDI's note about Aging in Place. And this year, the Forbes article, I, Robot Journalist: Beaming into CES 2014 was a great use of the Beam (from Suitable Technologies) telepresence device, "a motorized stand that looks like an iPad glued to a Segway." The Forbes writer 'wanders' around the International CES show and sort-of elbows her robotic way around to view various booths. The CEO of Suitable Technologies wants to see 10,000 Beams at CES 2015. Let’s try to imagine that scene -- I bet CES introduces a Beam registration limit to minimize violence on the show floor. (Seriously, you read it here first.)
LAS VEGAS, BOOTH 25521, SOUTH HALL 2, LVCC (January 7, 2014) – GreatCall Inc., the leader in providing solutions that enable independence for aging consumers and their family caregivers, today announced the launch of GreatCall Link. The smartphone app seamlessly connects GreatCall’s health and safety products with family caregivers, extending their ability to provide needed support.
CES, LAS VEGAS – Jan. 7, 2014 – Ooma®, Inc., the leader in smart home and business communication systems, introduces the Ooma Safety Phone, a new wearable phone that allows users to call for help during home emergency situations. This two-way communication device connects to the Ooma Telo and features two programmable speed-dial buttons that can be used to instantly call 911 emergency services and family members.
2013 was a year in which issues percolated all around the world of older adults – health insurance and Medicare media interest dominated, but senior housing also made the news, caregiving received some exposure, and new tech to mitigate hearing and vision loss emerged. In terms of trends that could, would, and should impact the technology worlds of older adults, much has happened and more is ahead. From specific initiatives to government policy implications, the markets (money, innovation, and consumer interest) show signs of aligning in ways that can only benefit boomers and seniors. Here are trends that signal change:
