Posted 1-16-20
Another week flying by! (Don’t they all???) Thank you every last one of you for visiting again today! Thank you to the casually-interested reader! Thank you to the in-the-trenches, 36/7/366 caregiver! Thank you to the one who is doing his or her best but can’t help as much as you would like! Thank you to the one who is too afraid/tender to go! (No guilt here…it is hard!). Thank you to the sufferer. You matter and you are loved as we fight to #EndALZ ! Thank you.
Today I want to sort of deviate from the dementia topic although there will be tangent applications (this blog is kind of a tangent to many things 😉 ). I was fortunate to be able to attend the Consumer Electronics Show is Las Vegas last week and am going to cover it here somewhat from our community’s prospective here. Today may be a more broadly senior prospective (knowing that many, many who have dementia ARE NOT seniors.) As I mentioned yesterday, one of the trip highlights, from a senior standpoint, was the 2nd Annual CTA Foundation CES Pitch Competition, sponsored by AARP Innovation Labs with support from P&G Ventures. Sorry this is a little redundant, but there was more to say than the snippet yesterday. This event was hosted by hall of fame quarterback Joe Montana and was quite interesting. Here is a short clip of his intro:
As Joe said, without further adieu, here were the top eight innovations as chosen by AARP and a panel of experts:
CareWear (U.S.)- This is an interesting product. I am not a physical therapist, nor the son of one, so this may be a normal method of promoting wellness, but this company’s devices use specially colored and designed LED lights integrated into patches/bandages to enhance blood flow and increase temperature. They promise pain relief and speedier recovery with no drugs required. They are somewhat pricey, but can you put a price on more living pain-free without opioids? Interesting for all people, especially seniors who are more commonly dealing with pain….
Naolu Brain Tech BrainUp (China)- Brain-computer, or similar, interfaces are getting more and more “common”. Eventually these interfaces will be used to treat diseases and mitigate all sorts of differing abilities, but it is slow going because of how complex the brain is. This product (KANG) is touted as a “gym for the brain”, but it is more interesting than that. It is said to assist with sleep, to be a tool for examining the brain and similar applications. The version the very talented presenter shows was, frankly, cute and somewhat funny:
I do see application for brain/device integration, and their website shows much more than my cute little video of their plans. (Bonus: as far as sleep aids using biofeedback/brain interface, I also really liked this product too, if it works. Here is their corporate link. Regardless which of these two I find compelling, I would love to be able to better understand just how much my mom, with end-stage Alzheimer’s/Mixed dementia, truly understands and perhaps communicate better in the process.
Rothem (Ukraine) – I was intrigued why this was included in the fray, but found it quite interesting. Rothem created a smart backlight for a bicycle. Oh, but it is much more than the old tire-powered bulb my old bike had. This marvel videos, sends video to the cloud, monitors around you for peril, and has anti-theft measures. Bike wrecks, especially for seniors, are a very dangerous thing and, if this device prevents as many as it touts it can it will be great. The price (below $300) seems low for what it does as well. I suspect, but cannot remember from the presentation, that there is a subscription fee as well to cover the 4G LTE service and cloud storage.
SmartyPans (U.S.)- I mentioned SmartyPans yesterday…this is a really neat product! I would have chosen it to win among the group of eight. Here is their video. It addresses nutritional needs, cooking challenges and even social isolation through its ability to share and interact. Its app seemed simple enough to operate and it is worth a look, even at the higher-than-I-can-afford price point.
Strig (S. Korea)- This was another pain relief and recovery tool that, instead of LED lights, used micro-currents/micro-vibrations. It is doing quite well in Kickstarter and has unusual shapes to address every nook and cranny of your pain. Here is their video. The massagers had the disadvantage of not being able to try them out, but all indications are that this is very innovative and helpful!
Triple W DFree (U.S.)- The DFree device, while not overly sexy as a concept at first glance, is quite cool and has tremendous applications even for our audience. This device attaches below your belly button and uses an ultrasound to monitor your bladder’s contents, then sends a notification to a phone or computer in advance of time to go. They have a #2 version too, if you will. While certainly not only for seniors since incontinence crosses all age ranges, a senior with dementia can certainly be helped here. Their caregiver could get a notification and take them to the bathroom before it is “too late”. While not foolproof, it seems like to me that this would be a great tool for keeping a loved one in the home too. Here is their YouTube Channel. Again, not Earth-shattering for everyone, but for those who need it this is wonderful.
Yoganotch (U.S.)- While I am not a practitioner of Yoga, millions (billions?) worldwide are. Yoganotch is a sensor-based yoga coach to supplement your at-home yoga efforts. Here is their Video. Similar to offerings from game consoles except more detailed and helpful, Yoganotch is more than a niche tool for those who exercise in this way. It struck me as a very professional device that would give you a lot of data about your exercise efficacy. Heck, if you know me, you know that if I am going to exercise, I want to be sure it is helping…and this product seems to do that well.
Zibrio (U.S.)- Zibrio, the winner of the competition, was quite cool. This very well-tested device appears to be a fancy scale, but it does much more than merely check your weight. Its primary function is to determine how much of a fall risk you are at any give time using a series of measurements and evaluations. While not their only focus, Zibrio has a full suite of senior facility tools. As we have discussed here before many times, falling is a huge problem for seniors as a whole and for our population specifically! If this device helps predict and avoid falls as it seems to, it is a deserving winner indeed! (It won the competition).
(Note: There were hundreds of displays of senior-oriented technology products at CES. I found several that I would place ahead of some of these, but I feel like the panel was choosing a cross-section more than the truly best…but I could be wrong)
There is so much that can be said about this show and the things we got to play around with. These were a nice, representative sample for sure. I have a few more I will address in the next few days.
Update: Mom was great again yesterday. She still cuts up and has both of us laughing well beyond her ability to communicate in a traditional sense. Perhaps we could siphon some of the billions and billions spent on smart toilets and Bluetooth toenail clippers and funnel it into getting mom and the millions in her situation a cure? Get on it folks. 🙂
#EndALZ
#CES2020
#AARP
Last note: I can count. 🙂 Eight…not ten products. Holy moly… I am mentally very tired these days. Thank you for the grace. 🙂