AdhereTech claims boost of 20 percent in med adherence

November 3, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/AdhereTech-pill-bottle-e1436497826583.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /] Back in June at CEWeek this Editor viewed the newly redesigned, retro-looking AdhereTech medication bottle [TTA 10 July] and thought it a substantial step in appearance and feel in the hand above 1.0. It dispenses normally, lights are brighter, sounds are louder, it communicates wirelessly to track consumption and reminders, works internationally and has a three-time greater battery life.

Compliance is a huge US business with pharma companies baying at the moon for it as a raison D’être of digital health. AdhereTech is working with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center on clinical trials. AdhereTech’s studies now indicate that users get about a 20 percent lift in adherence versus a standard bottle, and 80 percent of patients given the option of using AdhereTech or a normal bottle opted into the smart bottle. Like Medisafe [TTA 30 Oct], their market is millions who have one or more chronic diseases, but they sub-target those who take more and more expensive medications which can justify this pill dispenser’s cost. Mobihealthnews, FT interview with team early last month

AdhereTech’s smart pill bottle gets a new retro design

July 10, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/AdhereTech-pill-bottle-e1436497826583.jpg” thumb_width=”120″ /] My visit to CEWEEK in NY at the end of June was, in contrast to the 2014 edition, light on compelling health tech. One that stood out, for all the modesty of their display, was NYC-based AdhereTech. It’s a med reminder system pushed to the max: a pill bottle that dispenses normally, but collects and sends adherence data in real-time, with a system that analyzes and records the data. If a dose is missed, they send out customizable alerts and interventions to patients, using automated phone calls, text messages and other reminders. It also uniquely measures the level in the bottleso it can automatically notify the patient, provider and pharmacy about a refill.

When last we saw them, they had just won a spot in the inaugural (2013) Pilot Health Tech NYC program. They have redesigned the bottle to have a more compact, retro med bottle-like shape along with a brighter light and chime. (more…)

Caregiving a la robot: GeriJoy, Giraff Plus, CosmoBot

February 3, 2015 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/robot-cosmobot-85532261-slide-2.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]HP, a tech name not often associated with health monitoring, focuses on health tech in its Winter 2015 issue of HP Matter (produced by Fast Company). Focusing on monitoring and assistance for older adults, the Robot Caregivers article profiles the US’ GeriJoy, a ‘virtual pet’ on a tablet which acts as a therapeutic companion and, through the tablet camera, provides 24/7 video monitoring; Sweden’s Giraff Plus which combines home digital sensors with a tall mobile robot to comprehensively monitor personal well-being; and its pint-size cousin, CosmoBot (US), a character robot for education and therapeutics targeted to younger children. The wearables article notes AdhereTech‘s very smart IoT pill bottle and Proteus Digital Health’s smartpill to body sensor to smartphone monitor. There’s more about bionic prosthetic knees and making healthcare unhackable (!) promoting HP’s security software.

Pilot Health Tech NYC winners announced (US)

July 3, 2014 | by | 1 Comment

Last Thursday, the 11 winners of the second annual Pilot Health Tech NYC program were announced at Alexandria Center, NYC. A joint initiative of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Health 2.0, it provides early-stage health tech companies based in NYC a ‘test bed’ in partnership with many of the most prestigious metro area healthcare organizations, and another platform to keep health tech growing in the city. Each project represents a distinct need in the spectrum and a common theme is integration of care into workflow. Some needs are obvious: senior care, pediatrics, rehabilitation, cardiac disease and diabetes management. Others are less so: vision, medication adherence, data analytics, blood donation and social support.

The winners are supported by $1 million in funding to operate and report results from the individual pilots which will take place starting in late summer through end of year. An interesting fact from the announcement release is that the Pilot Health Tech inaugural class companies [TTA 1 July 2013] have raised over $150 million in private investment since their win: AdhereTech, eCaring, Rip Road, Vital Care Services, BioDigital, Flatiron Health, Sense Health, Bio-Signal Group, Opticology and StarlingHealth (acquired by Hill-Rom).

The winners (some of which we’ve been following like GeriJoy, NonnaTech and eCaring) and their partners are:

  • Smart Vision Labs / SUNY College of Optometry
  • GeriJoy / Pace University
  • QoL Devices, Inc. / Montefiore Medical Center
  • Urgent Software, LLC / Mount Sinai Health System
  • Nonnatech / ElderServe
  • Fit4D/ HealthFirst
  • AllazoHealth / Accountable Care Coalition of Greater New York
  • Canopy Apps / Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY)
  • Healthify / VillageCare
  • Tactonic Technologies / NYU Langone, Rusk Rehab Center
  • Hindsait, Inc. / NY Blood Center

More information in their release. Many thanks to NYCEDC and Eric Vieira of ELabNYC (another NYCEDC initiative) and CUNY.

Related reading: ELabNYC Pitch Day in March

MediSafe extends med reminder tech, signs major pharma

December 12, 2013 | by

MediSafe Project, a mobile med reminder app developed in Israel [TTA 4 Jan], is partnering with Wealth Taxi’s (!) iReminder pill caps to create a reminder system which can be used without a smartphone. The MediSafe Virtual Pillbox can use a NFC (near field communication) tag or alternatively, a Bluetooth version for web users, to create a ‘lighter’ reminder for over-the-counter or generic drugs. The more sophisticated iReminder pill caps would be used for higher-end prescription drugs. The MedCityNews article from the mHealth Summit also officially confirms Omri ‘Bob’ Shor’s ongoing discussions with New York-based AdhereTech’s [TTA 27 Aug] high-end pill reminder/dose confirmer. MediSafe is also partnering with Swiss pharmaceutical company Tillotts Pharma in “UC and ME”, a program for ulcerative colitis patients using their drug and HealthiNation on videos for Lipitor and Metformin users. While MediSafe on its own has had 170,000 downloads of its free app and ‘tens of thousands’ active (Ed.–data from Bob Shor), its real potential is in the partnerships–and the data generated by them–which now seem to be well underway.

AdhereTech pill dispenser adds wireless network provider

August 27, 2013 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/05_AT-Bottle-Light_with-pills.jpg” thumb_width=”175″ /]AdhereTech’s compact pill bottle for medications that need extra minding for accurate dosing beyond the usual ‘med reminder’ has just acquired a wireless backbone through KORE Telematics. AdhereTech, which was accelerated through Blueprint Health and is based out of StartUp Health here in NYC, has received some recent awards but is still in the lengthy clinical trials phase with Walter Reade Army Medical Center for patients using Type 2 diabetes medications and with Weill Cornell Medical College for single-dose HIV medication. KORE has provided M2M wireless services for Meridian Health [TTA 24 June 11] but hasn’t been prominent in health tech of late based on their press.  Smart pill bottle developers ink deal with wireless network provider KORE (MedCityNews)  KORE press release

Previously in TTA: Smart pill bottles 2.0, AdhereTech wins Healthcare Innovation World Cup, Pilot HealthTech NYC winners