MobileHelp and LifePod Connect AI-Driven, Voice-Enhanced Caregiving Solution with Emergency Response Functionality

For CES 2019 attendees looking for advances in personal healthcare, MobileHelpÃ,Ã,®, a leader in mobile Personal Emergency Response Systems (mPERS) and healthcare solutions, and LifePod Solutions, will be unveiling a proactive voice service enhanced with emergency response, for older adults aging at home as well as healthcare patients and their caregivers.

The new solution leverages popular smart home speakers to provide users with access to LifePod's proactive voice dialog management platform - now enhanced with the MobileHelp emergency response system.

By adding the MobileHelp pendant or wrist button to a LifePod subscription, users will be able to summon the help they need - be it a family member or emergency responders - by engaging directly with the LifePod voice-enhanced caregiving platform. When a user presses their emergency button, for example, the LifePod service will ask the user if they need help. In the event of an affirmative answer, or if the user cannot respond, they will be connected to a MobileHelp emergency response center.

"We know that more than 34 million US adults serve as unpaid caregivers to an adult over the age of 50 - and more than half of those receiving care reside in their own homes," said Rob Flippo, CEO of MobileHelp. "LifePod's platform allows us to deliver the first fully-integrated, voice-enhanced emergency response system in a 'virtual caregiver,' designed to empower people who want to age in place and to provide peace of mind to their caregivers."

To allow people to maintain independence at home for as long as possible, LifePod expands the capabilities of popular smart speakers with proactive voice user interface technology that makes it easy for caregivers to configure personalized voice dialogs for their patients and loved ones, with the following benefits:

• A natural, two-way voice interface - both reactive and proactive;
• Caregiver-configured check-ins and healthy-behavior reminders; and
• Friendly, personalized voice-based dialogues.

According to Laurie Orlov, founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch, "LifePod takes voice-first services a step further. It will allow users to engage with the device, much like Alexa, but LifePod will also periodically and proactively check-in with them independent of a wake word or voice prompt, at preprogrammed intervals saying, for example: 'Good morning, Nancy. Did you take your medication?'"

"We are excited to bring the first-ever, proactive-voice, virtual caregiver to market to address the needs of aging adults aging-in-place and other patients and their caregivers, whether they be remote family members or healthcare professionals," said Stuart Patterson, CEO of LifePod. "Millions of paid and unpaid caregivers are in desperate need of this type of easy-to-use yet powerful service to help them monitor and care for their clients and loved ones when they can't be there in person."

The first version of the MobileHelp emergency response-enabled LifePod service will be available in Q2 of 2019. For more news from CES 2019, please visit the company website.