BOSTON, June 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Winner of the Best of Show award in Patient-Focused Software at the 2019 Bio-IT World, LifePod, the voice-first Virtual Caregiver, today announced early access to its direct-to-family caregivers service. In partnership with iHome, a leader in award-winning portable devices and smart home control solutions, LifePod is bringing to market a first-of-its-kind, proactive-voice service designed to improve the quality of life for family and professional caregivers as they monitor and support their aging relatives or healthcare clients coping with social isolation, various medical conditions, or special needs in their homes. LifePod’s groundbreaking, two-way, voice-first service aims to transform the $279 billion caregiving market by enabling over 40 million family and professional caregivers to monitor and support their loved ones and patients remotely and by putting an end to the social isolation felt by millions of Americans.
“The personal stories from families participating in our in-home trials have inspired us to offer our early-access program to ensure that those in need of remote care and support -- and those who serve them -- can reserve a spot among the first 1,000 LifePod users when we launch this fall,” said Stuart R. Patterson, CEO of LifePod Solutions. “LifePod has combined the naturalness of two-way voice with the connectedness of online services, enabling family caregivers to better engage, monitor, and support their loved ones from a distance and enjoy greater peace of mind themselves.”
Over 117 million Americans are expected to need assistance of some kind by 2020, while the overall number of caregivers is only expected to reach 45 million, according to AARP’s Caregiving Innovation Frontiers study. Every year, more families must care for their aging parents or for loved ones with chronic conditions such as diabetes, thyroid conditions, and dementia, and provide ongoing care in between doctor’s visits and emotional support during times when loved ones are alone.
“It’s vital to have an extended support system to help me maintain my mother’s independence for as long as possible -- and also maintain her quality of life,” shares Amy, a Beta-user of the LifePod service, about her 87-year-old mother who moved into an independent living facility two years ago.
The first proactive-voice and AI-powered Virtual Caregiver service, LifePod speaks with care recipients following a daily schedule that is set up and personalized online by family or professional caregivers. Using voice proactively -- the most natural way to engage with care recipients without forcing them to learn new online or mobile apps -- LifePod helps them to follow a well-balanced care routine. LifePod’s supportive voice dialogues are fully customizable, without programming, and can include everything from medication reminders and healthy-eating prompts to alerts for upcoming doctor appointments or contacting designated care providers in an emergency. For the caregivers, LifePod provides real-time text alerts, daily reports, and increased peace-of-mind that their loved ones are following their care plans and no longer feeling isolated or disconnected.
“LifePod is a friend and companion in times when in-person care and support are not available to me,” shares Barbara, a LifePod user who lives independently by herself.
Following rigorous product development and testing since late 2017, and overwhelmingly positive feedback from LifePod’s market tests resulting in Net Promoter Scores over 95% among care recipients and caregivers, LifePod is now extending early access to their breakthrough service for remote caregiving.
Breakthrough in Proactive-Voice Technology
LifePod has developed the first-ever, proactive-voice service that speaks to and with care recipients - providing an unprecedented sense of personalized engagement with two-way voice capabilities, versus the reactive-only voice services used in the past. LifePod’s Caregiver Portal and service support an automated, conversational user interface that is configured by the caregiver, using their personal knowledge and feelings for the care recipient, and powered by AI-based voice recognition and natural language understanding.
“LifePod’s personalized, proactive user interface may be a key to addressing challenges facing millions of older adults and their family caregivers,” said Laurie Orlov, Industry Analyst, with Aging in Place Technology Watch.
Incorporating over 20 years of voice industry experience, LifePod’s Caregiver Portal enables caregivers to configure and schedule proactive dialogues for care recipients, including everything from the words spoken by the service to the configurable alerts triggered by user responses. In the future, LifePod’s disease-specific dialogue templates will enable caregivers to easily customize proactive interactions to support better care plan adherence and health outcomes. These LifePod dialogues and routines, along with data collected from IoT and wearable sensors, will enable countless health-related applications, all accessible via an intuitive, two-way voice user interface.
About LifePod Solutions
LifePod is the first proactive-voice, AI-powered Virtual Caregiver developed with a singular goal in mind: to support and improve the quality of care and life for both caregivers and care recipients throughout their journey together. LifePod’s customizable functionality fits the unique needs of a wide range of caregivers supporting older adults aging in place as well as those suffering from chronic illnesses or disabilities at home. Winner of the Best of Show award in Patient-Focused Software at the 2019 Bio-IT World, LifePod’s two-way voice service expands the capabilities of popular smart speakers with patented technology that supports natural voice dialogues, configured and controlled by remote caregivers. The LifePod team, comprised of experienced voice and health technology veterans, works closely with families, professional caregivers, and senior living communities to improve health outcomes and reduce the costs of long-term and chronic care. To learn more or to sign up for the LifePod Early Access Program, visit https://lifepod.com.
LifePod Press Contact:
lifepod@scratchmm.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/90423665-9cb3-4046-adaf-73ac049fda0c