This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) provides $864,674 to Lifebio Inc., a self-certified small disadvantaged business, to develop a tablet-based platform called "LifeBioTalk." The LifeBioTalk platform is designed to provide engaging audio-visual content narrated by a human-like avatar to people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). The goal is to use this simulated conversational experience to reduce challenging...
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) awarded Beaver Health, Inc. a $499,996 Project Grant under the Aging Research federal grant program (CFDA 93.866) to develop a prototype of the COMPASS conversational AI assistant. COMPASS is designed to provide real-time, personalized, and culturally responsive support for Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) caregivers. The key products/services to be delivered through this 12-month project include: A prototype conversational AI platform that...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) provides $811,228 to B.A. Maze, Inc. to develop and test the At-Home Health Station (AHS), a technology platform designed to assist individuals with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (CI/ADRD) in maintaining independence and health. The AHS is a modular, plug-and-play system that simplifies digital experiences for CI/ADRD users and enables caregivers to set customized...
This $349,333 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) supports the development and feasibility testing of a virtual reality (VR) platform called "VR-CARES" to provide social support and enrichment for in-home dementia caregivers. The key products and services to be delivered through this STTR Phase I study include: Co-developing the VR-CARES platform with input from dementia caregivers to ensure it aligns with their needs and experiences....
This Project Grant award, funded by the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research), aims to develop high-performing, fair, and interpretable large language models (LLMs) to detect Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its precursor stages, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), from transcribed unstructured speech samples. The $300,506 award, effective from Aug 1, 2024 to May 31, 2028, will test the use of fair and explainable LLMs to identify early stages of the AD trajectory, focusing on...
The federal Project Grant award R21AG087192, titled "ROBOT-BASED INFORMATION AND SUPPORT TO ENHANCE ALZHEIMER'S CAREGIVER HEALTH (RISE)", is funded by the National Institute on Aging under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866). The $802,180 award aims to develop and evaluate the RISE system, an AI-driven social robot designed to provide essential information, care strategies, and stress management techniques to support unpaid caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and...
This $855,000 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) supports the development and validation of AVA, an AI-powered, video-based mobile application for fall risk assessment of older adults. The project aims to create a more accessible and affordable solution compared to current technologies, which often require professional supervision and healthcare facility visits. The key objectives are to validate AVA's AI capabilities against motion capture...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging's Aging Research Federal Grant Program (CFDA 93.866) provides $295,825 to Applied Universal Dynamics, Corp to develop a machine learning-based smartphone software system that enhances speech and reduces background noise for over-the-counter hearing aid devices. The goal is to improve the accessibility, affordability, and acceptance of hearing assistance technologies, particularly among underserved rural and minority populations. The...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) totaling $2,245,769 aims to develop an integrated brain state monitoring system for personalized anesthesia decision support to prevent postoperative delirium in elderly and at-risk patients. The project, awarded to Pascall Systems, Inc., a for-profit medical technology company, focuses on four key objectives: Establishing technical feasibility for integrating the company's FDA-cleared wireless EEG...
This $999,994 cooperative agreement from the National Science Foundation under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program will support Deepconvo Inc.'s development of voice-based telehealth products and services for respiratory disease monitoring and screening. Deepconvo will further develop its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease early exacerbation warning system to more accurately measure lung function deterioration through voice and breath data captured on mobile phones. Key...
A STATE-OF-THE-ART AUTOMATIC SPEECH RECOGNITION AND CONVERSATIONAL PLATFORM TO ENABLE SOCIALLY ASSISTIVE ROBOTS FOR PERSONS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND RELATED DEMENTIAS - ABSTRACT THIS COMMERCIALIZATION READINESS PILOT (CRP) BY CARE.COACH CORPORATION (MILLBRAE, CA) REQUESTS FUNDS FOR LATE- STAGE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR A CONVERSATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) THAT WAS DEVELOPED WITH AND FOR OLDER ADULTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE AGING WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND RELATED DEMENTIAS (ADRD). PAST WORK HAS RESULTED IN A SOCIALLY ASSISTIVE ROBOT (SAR) AND VIRTUAL HEALTH ASSISTANT OVERSEEN BY HUMANS THAT IMPROVES HEALTH OUTCOMES AND REDUCES LONELINESS IN OLDER ADULTS AT A LOWER COST OF CARE. CUSTOMER LOYALTY IS WORLD-CLASS AND FAR EXCEEDS NET PROMOTOR SCORES (NPS) FOR WELL-KNOWN CONVERSATIONAL AGENTS, ATTESTING TO THE PRODUCT'S COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL. MOREOVER, ACTIVE PHASE II FUNDING (5R44AG0620-14-03) HAS RESULTED IN AN AUTOMATED SPEECH RECOGNITION (ASR) ENGINE THAT IS MORE ACCURATE IN UNDERSTANDING TRULY NATURAL SPEECH BY OLDER ADULTS, INCLUDING THOSE WITH ADRD, THAN MAJOR CONVERSIONAL AI PLATFORMS. THIS IS SIGNIFICANT GIVEN THE INHERENT CHALLENGES THAT THE SPEECH OF OLDER ADULTS, ESPECIALLY OF THOSE WITH ADRD, POSES TO CONVERSATIONAL AI DUE TO NORMAL AGE-RELATED NEUROLOGICAL CHANGES OR BRAIN PATHOLOGY ASSOCIATED WITH ADRD. LEVERAGING THESE ADVANCES AND INNOVATIONS, CARE.COACH IS PREPARING FOR RAPID GROWTH AND HAS ATTRACTED CONSIDERABLE INTEREST FROM INSURERS, CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT ARMS OF LARGE INSURERS, AND TRADITIONAL INVESTORS. TO SUCCESSFULLY SCALE, WE PROPOSE TO RE-PLATFORM OUR CURRENT SYSTEM ON TOP OF AN ENTERPRISE-GRADE, INTEGRATED KNOWLEDGE SOLUTION ENABLED BY KIE, AN OPENSOURCE PLATFORM POWERED BY KIE'S DROOLS/JBPM RULES AND PROCESS ENGINES. THE KIE PLATFORM HAS REVOLUTIONIZED ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS, AND HAS BEEN ADOPTED IN HEALTHCARE TO DRIVE QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY WITH APPLICATIONS RANGING FROM THE ADJUDICATION OF HEALTH INSURANCE CLAIMS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CLINICAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION TO BUSINESS PROCESS AUTOMATION, THE COST OF GOODS SOLD (COGS) WILL COME DOWN WITH FULL CONVERSATIONAL AUTOMATION IN ALLOWABLE USE CASES BY TRAINING AND USING A LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL. BOTH CAPABILITIES WILL BE DEVELOPED IN THE PROPOSED CRP USING STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNICAL APPROACHES, AND WILL BE EVALUATED FOR PERFORMANCE AND ACCEPTANCE IN A REPLICATION STUDY WITH ADRD PATIENTS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A HEALTH PLAN AND MEDICAL PROVIDERS THAT SERVE A LARGE, DIVERSE ELDERLY POPULATION. THIS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND LATE-STAGE DEVELOPMENT WILL DELIVER A STATE-OF-THE-ART, CONSUMER-FACING CONVERSA- TIONAL AGENT AND VIRTUAL HEALTH ASSISTANT DRIVEN BY A TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM WITH INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND AUTOMA- TION METHODS THAT ENSURE CONSISTENT AND SCALABLE DIGITAL HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY AND MANUFACTURING, AND THAT MEET THE HIGHEST SECURITY AND CONSUMER SATISFACTION STANDARDS. THE OVERALL GOAL IS TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF MILLIONS AMERICANS WITHIN 5 YEARS, INCLUDING THOSE AGING WITH ADRD.