People Power Dementia Caregiver NIA Grant Advances to Phase Two Rollout
Breakthrough caregiver solution developed in phase one moves into deployment phase
PALO ALTO, Calif, April 17, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- People Power, the the Internet of Things (IoT) software company providing custom branded services for senior care, security and energy management, announces today the start of a phase two project funded through a research and development grant expected to total $3.9 million from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The first phase of the grant focused on researching caregiver needs and developing in-home supportive solutions for dementia caregivers. The results of the collaborative research with University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) have produced key insights into how connected services can best offer assistance and promote peace of mind for caregivers actively involved in providing care for persons with dementia. In phase two, People Power and the Berkeley Psychophysiology Laboratory will deploy to 480 homes over two years.
Key findings from focus group testing of caregivers revealed how a connected solution can best assist in the mission to provide better care for their loved ones with dementia while combatting their own feelings of isolation, stress and loneliness. Knowledge gained through research was applied to the care solution that combines intelligent cloud services, mobile apps and low-cost sensors to create a smart home product that includes important care assistance and social outreach features. Two research studies are planned for phase two, one evaluating deployments in 80 homes and the other involving a broader deployment in 400 caregiving settings. In each study, participants are evenly split between active and control group conditions to accurately measure product impact.
"It is a great pleasure and an exciting opportunity to work with the talented and dedicated team at People Power on this project," said Dr. Robert W. Levenson, Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley. "Our collaborative effort to design and evaluate assistive technology has great promise in helping caregivers provide high quality care for individuals with dementia. As the population ages worldwide and the number of families dealing with dementia caregiving increases, there is a growing need for innovative solutions that promote the health and well-being of people with dementia and their caregivers."
Noteworthy features that deliver critical insights and alerts for care providers include AI-powered fall detection, wandering notification, and activity and sleep monitoring. Each service is fueled by People Power's patent pending machine learning algorithms that evolve constantly by learning patterns of behavior in order to warn caregivers about incidents of concern and pending hazards.
"Injuries from falls remain a frequent cause of death among people 65 years of age and older," said Gene Wang, CEO of People Power. "Our research targets this concern with industry-leading AI-powered fall detection for crucial improvements in response to life threatening falls when compared to wearable devices or antiquated PERS buttons. The solution also incorporates easy-to-use social features designed to help reduce loneliness and depression of caregivers and seniors by encouraging trusted circles of friends and family to share special moments captured in photos and videos."
The work is supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R44 AG059458-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
About People Power
An IoT software company specializing in the development of smart home and smart building solutions delivered through service provider brands, People Power leads the industry in custom branded IoT services with patented AI technology for recurring revenues in senior care, security, and energy management. For more information visit http://www.peoplepowerco.com
Media Contact:
Tim Nelson
CMO, People Power Co.
1-855-712-9833
Tim(at)PeoplePowerCo.com
SOURCE People Power Co.
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