Skip the tech – listen to the experts interviewed – first robots. The good news – this week’s Health Care Technology supplement transcended the limits of doctors and hospitals – and dabbled in the dilemmas of elder care – included technology to assist those with dementia and mitigate loneliness. The bad news -- another in a long line of 'robots and chatbots look after the elderly,' with promotions of those oft-promoted Care.coach and ElliQ, adding Catalia Health’s cute Mabu. These are worthy experiments – and not wanting to be left behind, there are always health organizations eager to see what the fuss is about. Says USC researcher, Maja Mataric: "Robots give patients the illusion of having a physical companion…it isn’t actually very hard to project empathy (Mabu)...Empathy is what you do, not what you feel." Really? How comforting.
As more and more Canadians live with dementia, they’re being treated in multiple locations and by multiple healthcare providers. For patients and caregivers, understanding each set of medical instructions can be overwhelming.
Dr. Alexandra Greenhill knows this reality well. As a physician, she observed what she calls the “increasing fragmentation of care.” As a daughter, she dealt firsthand with the responsibility of caring for aging loved ones.
Two November events highlight competitions and new firms. GuideWell Innnovation'sHealth+Accel event in Orlando concluded on November 3 with a pitch competition from "GuideWell Innovation CoRE. During the first four days, entrepreneurs obtained insight into the dynamic needs and relationships between insurers and providers, discover unique opportunities within the space and explore best practices from experienced industry leaders." And Aging 2.0's Optimize event this week in San Francisco offering "cutting edge content, networking and partnership opportunities to make this a high-value event for anyone interested in innovation and aging." Combing through the companies featured in each competition, here are examples of six startups that have not previously been mentioned on this site, some of which may not yet be available. The material is from the startups themselves:
Skip the tech – listen to the experts interviewed – first robots. The good news – this week’s 
Two November events highlight competitions and new firms. 