Turning homes into digital Smart Health Homes

Worldwide, population demographics are shifting, with a large cohort of retirees who want to stay in their own homes as long as possible. Meeting the increased demand for in-home health care is a challenge that Electronic Caregiver® aims to solve. Their solution, Addison Careâ„¢ is the technology that powers the company’s 3D, AI and voice-driven connected Virtual Caregiverâ„¢. 

Addison appears on touch screen devices that are strategically placed throughout a home. With these smart devices, a residence can be transformed into a digital Smart Health Home. Addison provides affordable, comprehensive and wellness support using state-of-the-art visual sensing technologies and algorithms to assess patients daily, in real-time. Fall risk, indications of functional decline, mental health decline, signs of musculoskeletal disorders or neurological conditions are some of the things that Addison can monitor and identify.

Addison in the home with additional sensors pictured.

In the case of chronic illness, many patients have long term drug regimens to improve and maintain health, but some studies have found that as many as 50% of patients do not take their medications as prescribed. The Virtual Caregiver™ specializes in chronic care management, encouraging patients to follow through on medications, monitoring vitals, rehabilitation, mental health routines and a variety of assessments. Because the reasons for failing to adhere to medical tasks are varied, Addison can help overcome a variety of barriers – for example, if you forget whether you have taken your medications or not, you can ask Addison.

As an advanced telehealth solution, Addison can connect with several Bluetooth devices that test blood sugar, temperature, weight, pulse oxygen, lung capacity and blood pressure. She can even show you how to use the devices, advise on nutrition and diet and help with fitness and social connectivity. Results from the tests can automatically be sent to a physician or family member if the patient chooses.

Addison in the home. The Intel RealSense Depth Camera D435 can be seen near the top of the device in the center.

Along with the voice and touch capabilities, Addison includes an Intel RealSense Depth Camera D435. The addition of the depth camera allows the system to provide actionable data related to human movement. Since a depth camera is capable of measuring and capturing motion in real time, it allows  Electronic Caregiver the data to develop cost effective, functional solutions for evaluating movement. Alternative solutions can require multiple simultaneous devices used synchronously, often with the assistance of an expert human caregiver.

Using a depth camera literally gives more dimensional information to any collected motion data. This is important in order to derive accurate meaning from it. A 2D camera used similarly would require additional information in order to make effective inferences across all ages and groups. The increased granularity of depth data gives Addison the data necessary to perform real-world assessments with high confidence in the results.

Clinician performing traditional motion assessment.

As we age, postural stability is a key indicator of our fall risk. Addison can track and measure postural stability, along with other movement evaluations such as gait analysis, clinical grade functional tests and rehabilitation and evaluation. In traditional standard care, these types of movement assessments are performed in clinics by appointment. Not only is this expensive, it is inconvenient and limited, being able to only assess the patient on that day specifically. In many musculoskeletal conditions, activity level, temperature and a variety of other factors can affect day to day motion. By transitioning functional motion analysis from the traditional clinic setting and moving it into the home, more frequent assessments can be performed without increasing cost and inconvenience. With more frequent assessments, doctors and physical therapists can provide more effective therapies and guidance and adjust it more rapidly for improved outcomes.

The advanced technology that Addison represents is wrapped inside an AI personality designed to improve engagement. The character can be interacted with either through voice or touch. The user can work with Addison to develop personalized routines that get smarter all the time.

See Addison, the Virtual Caregiver in action