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wearables, smart watch

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wearables, smart watch

Digital health moves towards suites – why not AgeTech?

Maybe it really is time for the 'virtual' AgeTech suite. As HLTH 2024 wrapped up this month, including its plethora of small-scope, standalone AgeTech offerings, look over at the world of Digital Health. A drop in funding precipitated a rethink on the part of some companies – causing them to acquire functionality rather than build it themselves – and saving time and money. Duh.  Looking at the 58 companies that made up the AgeTech exhibit hall at HLTH, they are prime candidates as well for combination into 'virtual' suites. No integration required, just marketing awareness that in the eyes of the ultimate user, family member or reseller, one offering is complementary to another.  And more to the point, that user may need all of them at one point or another, as physical wellbeing, mental capacity, and social connections -- will likely evolve over time.   

Deja vu -- Apple announces hearing aid feature -- will it help older adults?

The FDA jumps to approve when Apple approaches.  This sounded familiar, and merits a look back to a blog post from September 2018: “When Apple speaks, a puzzled market listens. When Apple announces, industries crane their necks to hear. They announced two features of a new watch, ECG monitoring and fall detection. In July, Tim Cook apparently did not want to get into the world of FDA regulation. Well, that was then – or he just wasn’t saying. In this new watch, both the ECG feature and fall detection have received FDA clearance within 30 days of applying, startling some observers who noted that closer to 150 days was more typical for a medical device. Healthcare observers are concerned that false positives from ECG readings could propel people unnecessarily to already-overloaded Emergency Rooms. To date, the Apple Watch may have been of greatest interest to 40 year old males. Interestingly, 70% of cases of atrial fibrillation are among the 65+ population. Does Apple really want the 65+ population to buy an Apple watch?” Did it happen?

AARP survey makes the case for health and wellness app suites

AARP fielded a survey that is worth a look. The topic was health and wellness app usage by the 50+ population. The goal was to understand 50+ level of engagement with health and wellness apps – an online survey that included 694 individuals who owned smartphone or tablet.   Interestingly the 15-minutes survey also includes a response comparison with 40-49 year-olds, likely because that is AARP’s next-up target membership. Responders needed to be comfortable with downloading a health and wellness app -- and have interest in trying them. 

Wisconsin Now Reimburses Residents for FallCall Medical Alert App

04/26/2024

TRUMBULL, Conn., April 25, 2024 (Newswire.com) - FallCall Solutions, an innovator in app-based medical alert technology, announced today that its 24/7 emergency monitoring subscription and pendant accessories will be reimbursed through the Wisconsin Independent Living Support Pilot (ILSP), a new program offered by Wisconsin DHS.

Our future tech interactions mandate personalized user experiences

The mindset of ‘get the product out the door’ sets the stage for poor user experience. For market researchers, there are many data-driven ways to gauge consumer preferences today, and tech companies can chose among surveys, interviews, focus groups and customer observation. Product life cycles in newer tech categories are shrinking, with consumers willing to replace devices that still work with newer models, hence the apparent ‘Ready, Fire, Aim’ tech cycle. In the future, we will need a new paradigm for tech user experience that can span our multiple interactions, driven by an opt-in profile about preferences and personal characteristics that can better shape interactions.  We will expect that our profile will drive technology access. Today’s fragmented tech experience offers behaviors based on a disconnected set of profiles – a Starbucks profile knows what coffee I like, a Gmail profile knows about my Inbox preferences, and Marriott knows what kind of room or bed is preferred. In the future and with the assistance of conversational AI, the user should be able to override those and specify a profile that spans all tech interactions, acting as a complexity-hiding agent on the user’s behalf.  

Did you miss one? March blogs lament deteriorating user experience

The decline of design.  As interviews proceed for the upcoming report, The Future of the Tech User Experience, all agree.  The deteriorating user experience, aka UX, is the result of fragmentation across multiple devices, portals, and websites. Product development has superseded UX. The pre-development focus group has been largely abandoned in favor of a post release shock-and-awe experience both for developers (bad PR) and customers (just plain bad).  And it is not just tech – consider the impenetrable smart TV interface, the microwave button-display combination, the new car that lacks readable warning lights and other user interface issues.  Here are the blog posts from March:

The Tech User Experience for Older Adults Needs A Reboot

Is the user experience deteriorating? Tech user experience experts focus on everyone except older adults. But there’s a problem:  from AARP’s tech trends survey from 2024 and their 2023 guidance from AARP on inclusive design practices, it’s clear and as the AARP report notes, “No one prefers badly designed, over-complicated products.”  Despite preferences, surveys show that today’s user experience for older adults is more problematic than ever. All are confronted with buggy software and frequent bug fix releases, such a problem on iPhones that an embarrassed Apple redirected software work towards fixing. And Google is no better with Pixel phones

FallCall Detect Integrates Apple Crash Detection

09/28/2023

FallCall Solutions, a CT tech startup committed to making safety accessible and affordable for all, announced today that their medical alert safety app, FallCall Detect, now supports Crash Detection for iPhone 14 and later models. This new integration into an independent 24/7 emergency monitoring center – a world first among safety-tech apps – will add to FallCall’s growing list of features, including their own patented Smart Fall Detection, integrated Bluetooth-powered medical alert jewelry and voice-activated Help Calls using Siri.

Remote health monitoring helps seniors remain safe and independent through enhanced caregiver communication

08/01/2023

Minneapolis, Minn. — What started as a personal need for a wife and mother diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease has now developed into BoundaryCare, an innovative way to foster aging-in-place and independence for vulnerable and older adults.

BoundaryCare is an app for the Apple Watch. Specially adapted for the needs of seniors, it silently gathers information about safety and wellness, sharing this data with caregivers when necessary. BoundaryCare can:

Detect falls (and note the location of the fall).

Recognize wandering events (through geo-fencing).

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