Commercializing In-Home Supportive Technolgy for Dementia Caregivers

AbstractCaring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias, or mild cognitive impairment is a highly meaningful part of family life. However, the associated burden and strain can have adverse effects on caregivers including declines in mental and physical health, reduced well-being, and increased mortality. These effects can compromise care quality for people with dementia (PWD). Empirically-supported interventions are needed that: (a) target mechanisms and pathways shown to connect troublesome behavioral symptoms in PWD with adverse effects in caregivers; (b) make low demands on caregivers’ limited time and energy; (c) can be personalized and adapted to the needs of different caregivers and PWDs as they change over time; and (d) can be disseminated successfully into larger community settings. In this Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) application, we seek support for technical assistance and late stage research and development activities prior to the commercial launch of People Power Caregiver (PPCg). PPCg consists of a hardware system (sensors, monitoring devices, wearables), apps, and cloud services that combine Internet-of- Things (i.e., devices that communicate automatically over the internet) technologies with machine learning algorithms that run in the home and in the cloud to create a more supportive home environment for caregivers and people in their care. PPCg was developed with support from an SBIR Fast Track award to People Power Company and the Berkeley Psychophysiology Laboratory (BPL) at the University of California, Berkeley. People Power is an award-winning, established leader in home monitoring and Internet-of-Things technology. BPL has been engaged in basic and applied research with PWDs and their caregivers for almost 20 years. CRP funding would enable us to commercialize PPCg successfully by supporting three specific aims: Aim 1: Increase PPCg accessibility. We will develop new versions of PPCg and conduct randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in underserved populations that evaluate effects on caregiver health, well-being, and user satisfaction in rural homes (Study 1) and Spanish language homes (Study 2). Aim 2: Increase PPCg support for wearable devices. We will evaluate PPCg with two wearable devices that monitor PWD movement and location, analyzing CareActive watch data (Study 3) as a way of improving alerting of worrisome events (e.g., wandering), and conducting an RCT with Apple watches (Study 4) to determine effects on caregiver health, well-being, and user satisfaction. Aim 3: Readying People Power for commercializing PPCg. To prepare People Power to commercialize PPCg successfully, we will: (a) add Spanish-speaking customer service staff; (b) increase intellectual property protection by filing 5 non-provisional PPCg patent applications; and (c) partner with companies that serve large numbers of older customers (e.g., telecom companies and utilities) and have deep senior care expertise (e.g., professional caregiver agencies) to market and distribute PPCg.