Ryan® CompanionBot for Assisting Older Adults with Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia

The population of Americans age 65 years or older will increase from 58 million in 2021 to 88 million by 2050. By 2050, nearly 14 million older adults are expected to have AD/ADRD. For these individuals, significant care is required, and that care is often provided by family members. A 2022 study estimated that 11 million American family members are providing 16 billion hours of care valued at more than $272 billion. Senior care facilities are another option. The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected senior care facility residents. Despite representing only about 1% of the total population in the U.S., COVID-19 deaths in senior care facilities have made up nearly 40% of total COVID-19 deaths. Senior care facilities often face staffing shortages during and after the pandemic. Currently, 3 in 5 assisted living facilities are concerned that they may have to close due to staffing shortages. The situation with these two caregiving options is alarming; increasing demand for caregivers coupled with short supply has led to higher costs, unfilled needs, and fierce competition for resources. While computer technologies, such as wearable devices, are beginning to partially alleviate the shortage of caregivers, more powerful and personalized tools are needed. To address this urgent need, DreamFace Technologies, LLC invented Ryan® CompanionBot, a novel humanoid socially-assistive robot expertly tailored to the specific needs of older adults with early-stage AD/ADRD. The development of Ryan®, with the support of one NSF and two NIA/NIH SBIR grants, has been informed by 100 customer interviews and several subsequent field tests and clinical trials involving more than 50 older adults with early-stage AD/ADRD. In these tests, Ryan® has effectively delivered companionship, engaging conversations, physical and mental stimulation, daily activity reminders, and valuable assistance to the AD/ADRD-afflicted seniors powered by state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technologies such as facial expression recognition and synthesis, brain games, and empathic conversations while we also learned about several additional capabilities required for commercial success. Furthermore, in the pre-launch phase of the initial version of Ryan®, it has been deployed on a subscription basis at the esteemed senior care facility, Morningstar, which has served as a valuable beta site. In this Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) program, we plan to complete the preparation of Ryan® for full commercialization. Specifically, we will: (1) refine and enhance Ryan®'s software and hardware, making mass manufacturing more efficient and cost-effective while making Ryan®'s operation more robust and easier to adopt by family members, staff, administrators, and caregivers in senior care facilities, (2) develop robust, integrated marketing and sales strategies, (3) develop an Intellectual Property strategy and required privacy policy and legal documents and (4) develop a financing and fundraising strategy for the successful commercialization of Ryan®. Upon the completion of the CRP project, we will have all the essential elements in place for the full commercialization of Ryan® as a transformative solution for senior care, benefiting both individuals diagnosed with early-stage AD/ADRD and caregivers alike.