Your Friday robot fix: We need robot caregivers

July 25, 2014 | by

I can, and do, write prescriptions for her many medical problems, but I have little to offer for the two conditions that dominate her days: loneliness and disability. She has a well-meaning, troubled daughter in a faraway state, a caregiver who comes twice a week, a friend who checks in on her periodically, and she gets regular calls from volunteers with the Friendship Line.

It’s not enough. Like most older adults, she doesn’t want to be “locked up in one of those homes.” What she needs is someone who is always there, who can help with everyday tasks, who will listen and smile.

What she needs is a robot caregiver.

—Louise Aronson, MD

From a medical practitioner and geriatrician is a view on robots as not dehumanizing, but a source of companionship, comfort and ‘always on’ emergency assistance for older adults and the disabled, particularly those who live alone. Dr Aronson also advocates assistance robots for everyday tasks such as bed transfer, lifting and dressing assistance. Mentioned favorably: PARO the Japanese ‘seal’ robot, MOBISERV Kompaï, Sweden’s GiraffPlus but notable by omission GrandCare Systems, the GeriJoy tablet-as-pet companion and (perhaps too new) the JIBO ‘family robot companion’ [TTA 18 July]. She also makes the apt point that those of us who’ve spent most of our adult lives interacting with machines will be quite comfortable with robotic companions. The Future of Robot Caregivers (New York Times) Also Katy Fike PhD from the Aging 2.0 group takes a look in their blog at Dr Aronson’s insights as well as JIBO.

Patient engagement meets ‘palliative care’

July 25, 2014 | by

Restoring the ‘human connection’ in patient engagement.  Pre/post-procedure education and monitoring service VOX Telehealth [TTA 23 May] is partnering with spiritual care counsel provider HealthCare Chaplaincy Network [TTA 2 Apr] and clinical teams from Northwestern University (Illinois) and the Princeton (New Jersey) Medical Center to develop the PalliativeCare Program. The VOX program is designed to blend health education and coordination support not only around a care plan for a specific disease but also for decision making, caregiver coordination, and necessary spiritual support and social services. It’s an interesting approach that combines online/mobile communications, telehealth and social services/ministry. HCCN’s inclusion in the program is not surprising as they have been transforming from a chaplain training resource for those ministering to patients and families in hospitals to providing spiritual care and resources directly online (via ChaplainsOnHand) for the seriously/chronically ill and their families. VOX release  [Disclosure: Editor Donna is a volunteer on the HCCN’s marketing advisory council.]  

Getting sleepy behind the wheel? Your seat will tell (ES)

July 25, 2014 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/heartbeat-sensor-seatbelt.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Finally something useful in automotive biometrics! Researchers from Spain’s Instituto de Biomecánica de Valencia (IBV) have integrated sensors into a car seat and seat belt to continuously track the driver’s heart beat and respiration, with the aim of warning a drowsy driver. Data is gathered through a signal-processing unit (SPU) in real time, then sent to a computer program which through modeling patterns of fatigue in these two metrics, determines whether the driver is drowsy. It’s in working prototype save the proactive warning part, which does present a design challenge. (An electric shock? A VC10 at takeoff? Jimi Hendrix or Queen at 80 dB?) It’s appropriately dubbed The Harken Project. A potential life-saver far more useful than Ford SYNC/IMS’s Allergy Alert. Press release. Medgadget  Hat tip to reader David Albert MD @DrDave01 via Twitter (!)  

Eimo UK telehealth device fundraising via Kickstarter

July 24, 2014 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Eimo.jpg” thumb_width=”190″ /]Updated 25 July    If our exclusive on the ‘tricorder-like’ Eimo device caught your attention [TTA 19 May], you will be interested in the extra information about it given on its Kickstarter page. See the second video down and read some more on its background, history and the philosophy of the developers, iMonSys, located in North Yorkshire. You may even want to pledge some cash to help produce the first 1,000 units! (Unfortunately, funding stands at only £2,000 of a required £145,000 pledge by Wednesday, 13 August.) iMonSys will also be developing two versions: for home use to retail at £300 and the medical version to retail at £600. What is different about this is that based on the demo, anyone can be taught to use Eimo and it produces a reading of core body temperature, full ECG trace, oxygen levels, pulse and blood pressure in well under two minutes as seen in the video. Also it stores data so that the ‘funny turn’ that doesn’t consistently happen can also be captured and stored for later analysis by a doctor. Will it actually be a vital signs monitor ‘which even Granny can use’? Based on the video it certainly seems so.

Update: Laurie Orlov picks up iMonSys’ local roots in Staithes in her post on Boomer Health Tech Watch linking to an article in the Whitby Gazette. Founder and developer Graham Priestley’s original concept resembled the ‘black box’ on an aircraft to monitor a soldier’s vital signs, with the original research under the aegis of the (UK) Ministry of Defence but shelved around 2008. He picked this up two years later with the assistance of the University of Hull, and is currently seeking to

Our readers can help spread the word on this UK product on Kickstarter!

Soapbox: Kicking the ‘Tweet the Meeting’ habit

July 24, 2014 | by | 4 Comments

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/twitterban-590×330.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]It’s time to go cold turkey. One of the hallmarks of being active on healthcare tech or digital health scene is Twitter. Even more than LinkedIn groups, websites and blogs, it’s how increasingly we communicate with and acknowledge each other in the field. But it has its shortcomings. It’s become a chore to follow the tweetstream in my (deliberately limited) account, because there’s all that filler. I have to scroll…and scroll…to find the ‘wanna read’ nuggets by those who post ‘the good stuff’ (and you know who you are).

The volume increases dramatically during conferences. There’s good links and photos, but increasingly it’s become a festival of incidental remarks about speakers being on (sans content links), tweets about going here and there, social pictures of lunches and dinners, selfies. Increasingly, no one puts down their phone! At sessions, instead of being riveted (or not) on the speaker, attendees are glued to their phones, furiously keyboarding and tweeting…whatever. It’s insulting to the speaker who’s trying to engage with the audience, for starters. Then there are the meetings with the tweetstream posted to the side of the stage–another distraction.  Most of all, by furiously fingering, aren’t you cheating yourself of the conference experience for which you or someone has paid dearly? Isn’t the point of being there human contact and time off the screen?

Carolyn Thomas, Canada’s own ‘Ethical Nag’ and ‘Heart Sister’, describes kicking Obsessive Live-Tweeting at Conferences far more wittily in How we got sucked into live-tweeting at conferences. An excerpt:

For too long, I’d been telling myself:

–that live-tweeting isn’t a problem for me
–that I could quit anytime
–that the tweets I send to my Twitter followers while listening to a conference speaker onstage are actually interesting, high-quality messages
–that it must be okay because everybody else in the audience is doing it, too

But now I know that it’s time to quit cold-turkey.

Tunstall launches Advisory Service for ‘telehealthcare’

July 22, 2014 | by | 2 Comments

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Tunstall-Bsp63SfCYAETk3Q.jpg” thumb_width=”170″ /]Tunstall Healthcare UK last week announced the addition of an advisory service to help commissioners (CCGs, borough councils) and providers better understand, design, deliver and deploy what they’ve coined ‘telehealthcare’, which is plain ol’ telehealth to The Rest of Us. The Advisory Service will be managed by a team of specialists with clinical, technology, training, implementation and business intelligence expertise. The illustration to the left indicates their ‘swirl of disciplines.’ An interesting quote from the release: “According to NHS England, nearly a third of patients aged 75 or over have two or more long-term conditions; the overall cost of care for a person with multiple conditions is £2,500 per year.” (In US terms, that seems vanishingly small, except when you start multiplying…Ed.D.) In the UK system, commissioners are supposed to stay vendor-neutral so to this Editor there is a question on the objectivity of the advice given. On the clinical side, how many doctors and nurses will be engaged by the Advisory Service? The release also implies that the service will be available internationally, but materials are UK only. Website, release, brochure.

Another indication that Tunstall is trying to broaden itself beyond frameworks, fees and NHS funding is their organization of a European Symposium in Barcelona a few weeks ago.  Hot topics were integrating services, enabling self-care and self-management for people with long-term health and care needs, increasing awareness of these service among carers, and of course cost management. Tunstall blog.

According to this GP article, GPs are not impressed by telehealth. They “have expressed doubts over the potential of telehealth to improve patient care, and studies have questioned whether the health-tracking technologies are value for money for the NHS.” Thus the Department of Health will encourage commissioners to use telehealth by surveying telehealth and telecare users, as well as developing a set of metrics for commissioners which will demonstrate their impact on health outcomes. The Telehealth Service Association (TSA) estimates are that 1.37m people in 2011 used telehealth, telecare and telecoaching services in England. Certainly Tunstall’s move in this area is designed to take advantage of Government action in this area and commissioners’ increased accountability.

A Gimlety look at fitness trackers and startup bloviation

July 22, 2014 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/gimlet-eye.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]It must be summer and The Gimlet Eye is looking for amusement and diversion. In a Real World of shotdown passenger aircraft and Middle East war, even Neil Versel in Meaningful HIT News is opting for the lighter side. He draws our attention to the humor of Steven Colbert on the subject “The Golden Era of Digital Toys”. Instead of actually running a marathon, simulate it with your Fitbit by mounting it to a paint shaker. But beyond these yuks, Mr Colbert aptly points to the vaporous language used by every DH3-er (Digital Health Hypester Horde) to promote their ‘revolutionary’ device.

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Vessyl.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Case in point: Vessyl, a cup that reads out what you are drinking down to the brand, flavor and calorie count and tosses the information to an app on your smartphone. (Of course, you could read the container, but that would be soooo uncool.) Colbert uses Vessyl to skewer Healthcare Startup Bloviation. There’s the Founder with red oblong glasses on ‘tracking real time hydration’. Then another principal, of whom The Gimlet Eye notes must be so dedicated that has no time to shave, tweeze his eyebrows, comb his hair or put on a clean shirt for the promo video, uttering their mission statement like Moses Bringing Down The Tablets from Sinai: ‘we help people make healthier and more informed decisions in real time.’ The final reductio ad absurdum is the creative director whispering in awe on its seven years of intensive design work. For a drink cup. Retail $200 if it meets its early 2015 ship date. Raising $50,000 via MarkOne’s oh-so-hip ‘n’ cool glossy demo website. With the requisite hipsters (none over 25) livin’ large in San Francisco’s glam settings, of course clutching their Vessyl.

This is what gets funded? As in the proverb, has the mountain labored to bring forth a mouse? Mr Colbert’s device in counterpoint is brilliant. It should be funded shortly. Colbert Video.

Additional breathless D3H coverage: VentureBeat. CNet traces its ties to the Jawbone UP designer. (Editor Donna note: the cup readout on brands and accuracy re sugar and caffeine does sound a bit too good to be true. Let’s see if it’s for real in 2015.)

Keeping up with KeepUs

July 22, 2014 | by

Updated 25 July

Last October we profiled a UK-developed mobile app in beta called KeepUs. We said at the time that it “when installed on an older person’s or a child’s Android smartphone, (it) allows a family member to monitor that person’s both indoor and outdoor activity. Using geolocation, the family member can see that person’s visits (locations can be labeled), level of activity on any given day, alerts (being idle for too long), how much time was spent at each named location over the past two weeks and trends over two months.” For this Editor, it has the potential to supersede PERS of both the traditional and mobile types since it is free/low cost and also fits into an accepted form factor (phone) which increasingly PERS is not. It’s now well out of beta and with some “commercial care institutions” (we are following up). Founder Tom Doris is now inviting 10,000 volunteers to download a free version of the app by going to keepus.com and following the instructions (see at the top ‘go ahead and install the app’ which will take you to Google Play). PDF release.

Update: A follow up with Mr Doris confirms that KeepUs has users in the US, UK, Ireland, India, Turkey, Australia and even Cambodia (!). He explains, “It works the same as you’d expect any normal app and website to work: as long as you have access, KeepUs works fine. It doesn’t need any special hardware, nor does it need any special support from the cellphone network operators.”

19th ISfTeH International Conference – 5th Carrefour de la Telesante

July 21, 2014 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/logo_catel-ISfTeH.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]16 – 17 October 2014. Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris

The annual fall “Telesante” meeting’s theme this year is “Towards an international eHealth?” Sessions will center on success stories of eHealth applications, connected tools and services, methodologies, eHealth and economic development, and legal/regulatory frameworks. Organized by CATEL, the French Network for eHealth providers, and the ISfTeH, the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth. Website and registration

Also: July ISfTeH newsletter Hat tip to Malcolm Fisk, CoDirector of Age Research Centre, Coventry University

Perhaps the cutest robot to date

July 18, 2014 | by | 2 Comments
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140715211029-Read_Important_Messages.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]Responsive and fitting into the home for multiple ages works. Cute makes it a ‘want to buy’. JIBO may not be the first operative ‘family robot’ (the EU/UK MOBISERVE/Kompaï companion robot [TTA 23 Aug 2013] likely was), it’s not child-sized like the ‘Robot’ of ‘Robot and Frank’ nor the mini-me of ‘Jimmy the Humanoid Robot’, but it’s got the Cute Factor in abundance. It’s a robot designed along the lines of ‘social robotics’ that doesn’t try to look humanoid. It stands at a non-threatening 12 inches high, suitable for tables or desktop. It’s white topped by a large orb serving as a screen that plays videos, reminders and teleconferences. It also speaks. But the big difference is that it responds to touch–dramatically. JIBO moves like a dancer and its ‘face’ follows you. Its response is framed in a companionate way and it’s not a toy–it also does practical things like deliver messages and two-way conversation. It’s easy to think of this not only as a natural companion and connector for various ages in a home, but also where someone lives alone.  The development team headed by Dr. Cynthia Breazeal is delivering this at an attractive price point–$499 for a December 2015 delivery. It’s flown past its $100,000 Indiegogo goal (currently past $500,000) which is a gauge of its appeal. Can you, our Reader, imagine this in your home? Glowing article in Mashable, YouTube video), an grumpy review in Time (which maintains that wearables and smartphones are far more practical. No, it’s not The Gimlet Eye freelancing!)

MIT’s ‘FingerReader’ to aid sight-impaired in reading

July 17, 2014 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/finger_reader_mit.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]MIT Media Lab is developing a chunky plastic ring that in concept and early stage prototype, assists the sight-impaired in reading normal 12 pt. text in a book, magazine or on screen. The ring is worn on the hand (resembles a collar) and the reader points their finger along the line to be read. The camera embedded in the ring scans line by line and ‘speaks’ through speakers on a PC or tablet connected to the ring. If the finger strays too far from a line, there is a dial-tone like feedback sound. It is different than the conceptually similar Reading Pen as being more strongly in real time and reading faster–whole lines rather than word by word. While primarily for the blind and low vision, one of the MIT developers, Roy Shilkrot, a doctoral candidate, envisions simultaneous (machine) translation to another language. With a market of 285 million visually impaired worldwide–85 percent are over 50 (WHO)–there’s a ready-made market right there and for technologies like the Oxford ‘assisted vision’ project [TTA 11 July]. Mr. Shilkrot is shy on the commercialization subject, but given the positive media reception, he should perhaps think it over. TechCrunch (includes video demo), Mashable, MIT’s release and FAQ. Hat tip to reader Luca Sergio of Ethis Communications/Ethis Healthtech, New York

International eGovernment and eHealth Cooperation Forum 2014 (Austria)

July 17, 2014 | by

20 October 2014. Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Wiedner Hauptstraße 63, Vienna, Austria

The Cooperation Forum is targeted at European and international public administrators, service providers, companies and potential purchasers in the areas of eHealth and eGovernment. It covers several verticals outside of healthcare but in the eHealth area they are (directly) listed as eHealth and Telemedicine, as well as less directly Open Government Data (OGD)/Public sector information (PSI). The Forum is centered on learning about latest trends and technologies, as well as cross-border contacts and meetings with principals in the eGovernment and eHealth sector. Supported by Enterprise Europe Network, the European Commission, WKO and Digital Austria. Attractively, participation in the Cooperation Forum is free of charge but registration for the event is mandatory; for international guests it includes complimentary accommodation (two nights in a 3*/4* hotel in the city center of Vienna with breakfast). Program (PDF). Flyer (PDF). Information and registration. Hat tip to Eva Weidinger, Head of Technology Affairs at the Austrian Embassy (London)

Google, Novartis team on ‘smart contact lens’ for diabetics

July 17, 2014 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/116-fam_1a.jpg” thumb_width=”175″ /]Despite Sergey and Larry’s vapors over healthcare [TTA 10 July], Google is joining with the Alcon eyewear/eyecare division of Novartis to further develop the smart contact lens. With a licensing deal between them, the initial Google X-Novartis project is the smart contact lens that contains a low power microchip and a hair-thin electronic circuit. It would initially measure blood glucose for diabetics, but also in Novartis’ president’s words, would meet additional “unmet medical needs” within the next five years. Our profile of the lens exactly six months ago [TTA 17 July] has additional detail, including the practicality (and injury potential) of contact lenses for diabetics, especially thicker ones with ‘circuitry’. (Also see the comment below the article.) Another area (and a much-needed, thus profitable one) is age-related farsightedness and creating an ‘autofocusing’ lens much like a zoom lens. Certainly a partner like Alcon will help work through the questions and also steer the X-Marks-The-Spot lens through the usual FDA review that marks the muddy spot before the rainbow. Google Smart Contact Lens Focuses On Healthcare Billions (Forbes)

A long-overdue robotics roundup

July 13, 2014 | by

Focusing today on robotics in and around DARPA and the US Armed Forces, via Armed With Science. Military advances are a ‘pointer to the future’ where robotics will eventually assist older adults, the disabled and the rest of us in our daily lives. (We’ve also noted where other military protocols can work into assistive technologies–see ‘The Big Red Button’ emergency alert app.) :

  • Update on the DARPA Robotics Challenge: The Phase 3-Final originally set for December will take place 4-5 June in Pomona, California due to some changes in the third round specs including an emphasis on ‘cloud robotics’ and international applicability. DARPA’s program is strictly oriented to ground operations, disaster response and human supervision. Changes in spec include full wireless, tetherless and continuous operation–the operators communicate with the robots wirelessly only including periods of latency, their power source is 100 percent onboard, and the robots must be able to complete a sequence of eight tasks and recover in a ‘challenging environment’ without outside help. Plus DARPA is throwing in a secret challenge that looks like it will be disclosed only at the final. Specs have evolved to the point where there has been a withdrawal of a finalist which is now concentrating on commercialization despite the $2 million prize.  Here Come The Robots  Previously in TTA: DARPA Robotics field competition (Phase 2), Robotics Challenge winners
  • Robotics Secrets Revealed! In this humorous video, the Naval Research Lab’s Lucas, Octavia and PackBot set up some human furloughs (real enough) so that they get some rest. The reasoning behind their actions and the humans is explored. Robot Ruckus.
  • MAST’s Mini Robots and ‘microsystems’ may be in future used to locate, identify and engage high-priority targets by increasing situational awareness. This includes drones. Emphasis more on in-field use. Unfortunately written in Pentagon-ese. The Military’s Mini Robots
  • Meet a specialist in robotics. Interview with bomb disposal robot engineer Aaron O’Toole, awarded the Navy’s top engineering award in 2013. An area of his concentration is flexibility and fluidity of motion. Insights into how a developer looks at mobility and skill challenges. Meet the Scientists

 

The King’s Fund: International Digital Health and Care Congress

July 13, 2014 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Q75-digital-health-dot-mailer-banner-e1405212554733.jpg” thumb_width=”450″ /]

10–12 September 2014 at The King’s Fund, London W1G 0AN

 

This three-day event at The King’s Fund, now in its fourth year, is a truly international Congress in attendance and speakers. It will showcase new ideas, new research and new innovations in digital health, mobile health, telehealth and telecare around these five topics.

  • Sustaining independence as people age
  • Preventing and managing chronic illness effectively
  • Supporting people with mental health issues
  • Digitally enabling service transformation
  • Innovations in technology

Wednesday’s pre-Congress session begins with lunch, a full day on Thursday concluding with an (optional) dinner and a full Friday. Our own Editor Charles Lowe will be presenting on medical apps during the 11:30 breakout session (the T2F section) at 11:30am Thursday. See here for detailed information on the Congress sessions. PDF summary including keynote speakers.

As TTA is a media sponsor of the Congress, we are pleased to offer our readers a 10 percent discount off pricing for all their registration types, including the Thursday dinner. Click here to automatically obtain the discount.

Help develop ‘The Big Red Button’ emergency alert app

July 11, 2014 | by | 2 Comments

Help Edd Tillen design a telecare alternative

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Big-Red-2.jpg” thumb_width=”170″ /]We occasionally hear from one of our developer readers, and so it was at the end of June when Mr Edd Tillen wrote me about a smartphone app he is developing called ‘The Big Red Button’. It does what a typical ‘panic alarm’ app does–alert a designated person about an emergency or unsafe situation–but coordinates the response among several carers with a sister app on their phones. One person is designated a ‘responder in charge’, and the nearest in distance (based upon GPS) is the first responder. The design of the app coordinates the response and informs all responders on what is happening to its conclusion. The responder in charge also calls the casualty to get a better idea of what is happening. Mr Tillen designed the app after how the British Army handles battlefield casualty drills where everyone has a role (he’s a member of the Reserves, Royal Logistics Corps). In his capacity working in social care with the Leicestershire County Council, he also felt that smartphones, which are being more widely accepted among older persons, are a better alternative for most than expensive and home-based telecare contracts.

Here’s where Mr Tillen would like YOUR help. On his website, there’s a working demo of the app. It has two different scenarios–what is seen from the casualty and also what the carer would see. He’s looking for reviewers to then fill out a consultation questionnaire, which he will use with his developer (part of the Leicestershire Tech Start Up Community) for modifications and with potential investors, who especially want to see interest from those engaged in the field prior to its projected release this Autumn. Website