Electronic Caregiver Launches Addison Assistant

Health technology company Electronic Caregiver has launched Addison, a virtual caregiver.

Through voice and touch interaction, the 3D-animated virtual caregiver helps monitor the health of aging and chronically ill clients via Lenovo IdeaCentre All-in-One computers or Yoga convertible tablets in clients' homes. Addison Care devices can also be implemented in senior living communities and health care organizations.

"Addison is the most transformational and engaging interface for human interaction with technology ever created," said Electronic Caregiver's founder and CEO, Anthony Dohrmann, in a statement. "For years consumers have wondered what Siri and Alexa might look like behind the voice. Addison adds far more than a mere face and body to the voice. Addison provides a dynamic, ever-changing, emotionally stimulating, personalized experience to the user. Addison can educate, demonstrate, inquire, and connect."

Addison reminds users to take medications, conducts interactive health assessments, delivers dosing compliance verification to caregivers and providers, and assists patients in recording vital sign measurements. The Addison Care system can be paired with Bluetooth devices, such as a glucometer for patients with diabetes or a weight scale and blood pressure cuff for patients who have or are managing heart disease. Addison tracks medication adherence and vital sign trends over time, allowing clients, their caregivers, and providers to catch any escalations before they become problematic.

Addison can also connect patients with primary care, emergency response, friends, and family. Users can personalize environments, gender, ethnicity, decor, locations, fonts, tones, colors, apparel, and language. They can interact with objects, animals, musical instruments, media, and characters in Addison's world.

"You know [Addison's] not human, but it's nice to have a person there, and it's fun to watch her," said Coralee Armstrong, 82, an Addison Care client in Greenville, Pa. "It's kind of like an extra person in the house. It's kind of like company."

Soon, Addison will incorporate physical and mental health routines and video televisits with health care professionals; third-party service integrations for grocery delivery, ride share, and connected home solutions; and bedside patient management in hospitals, including intake and discharge processes.