These 10 startups want to change the future of aging

The U.S. population of people aged 65 and older will nearly double by 2050, according to the Census Bureau. Aging baby boomers create healthcare challenges, yes, but they also generate opportunity for innovation. Lemons, lemonade.
This was the spirit in which 10 entrepreneurs each took the stage at 1776 to pitch an idea that they believe will revolutionize the aging process. The audience — a mixture of fellow entrepreneurs, industry professionals, investors, caregivers and at least one woman whose interest was purely personal (“Look at me,” she quipped, “I’m getting older!”) — was there to judge.
The event was the latest in a series of competitions taking place around the world as part of Aging 2.0’s #30in30in30 tour. Technical.ly covered a similar event in Baltimore earlier this month.
Aging 2.0, a San Francisco-based network for innovation in senior care, sees business potential in the rapidly aging population. The organization is trying to facilitate innovation in the industry that creates products for this demographic by connecting entrepreneurs with the resources — funding, consumer feedback, etc. — that they need to turn their concepts into products.
#30in30in30 fulfills this mission by leveraging Aging 2.0’s network of volunteer-run chapters around the world to host pitch nights for their communities. The goal is to host 30 pitch events in 30 different cities around the world in the span of 30 days. On Monday night, it was D.C.’s turn.
The startups that presented, each in a very different stage of development, were given two minutes to pitch and two minutes for questions, after which the audience was asked to score the pitch on concept and delivery.
Here are the ventures that participated:

1. Sensassure

The pitch for this startup included the revelation that the development team has spent the past five months living in a nursing home.
They’re on the ground to develop a smart patch that attaches to the outside of a resident’s briefs and informs a caregiver when the resident has had an episode of incontinence. The company aims to replace the “check and change” method currently employed in most nursing homes, a method that is time-consuming, costly and can leave residents in wet briefs for far too long. Sensassure was the highest rated pitch of the night.
Sensassure, along with 29 other #30in30in30 winners will move on to the next round and compete in a virtual semi-final next month. From there, a few winners will be invited to present at the Aging 2.0 Expo in San Francisco in November.

2. Gociety

Gociety has created the GoLivePhone — Android software for a simple and user-friendly smartphone. The idea is that the phone will increase seniors’ independence and quality of life while still giving caregivers the means to support and assist through features like fall detection. With the GoLivePhone “the smartphone becomes the smart companion,” Managing Director Frank Verbeek said.

3. Undercare

Founder Suzanne Shoemaker has noticed that getting dressed, for those with limited mobility, can be a real challenge. And with her background in art, she decided that she could do something about that. Undercare has a line of undergarments that, with the help of velcro closures, do away with the need to bend over or balance on one leg.

4. APIS Labs

The company has created a non-wearable activity monitor that aims to assist seniors in their independent lifestyles. The device “blends into the background,” while providing caregivers with important activity information.

5. Luvozo

Luvozo’s concept is SAM — a self-driving robot concierge service that augments caregiver resources by delivering non-medical support to senior housing residents. The robotic platform is combined with off-site professionals who can monitor and socialize with residents. SAM emerged at the top of the competition at #30in30in30’s event in Baltimore two weeks ago.

6. AgeWell Biometrics

When embedded on a smartphone, motion sensor or other wearable, AgeWell’s software will aid detection of movement patterns that mean an individual is at risk of falling. In the U.S. alone falls are the cause of around 30,000 annually, and AgeWell’s Joshua Wies says around half of these are preventable. AgeWell gives caregivers the information they need to intervene early.

7. CareBetween, crankfrog

One-third of adults in the U.S. serve as a caregiver of some variety. Bouncing off these statistics, crankfrog’s CareBetween concept is a cloud-based tool to plan and share caregiving responsibilities.

8. MemoryWell

Created by journalists, MemoryWell serves caregivers and families by writing the life story of a patient with dementia. An online platform with the person’s story as well as personal photographs, music and other media, serves as a kind of “Facebook for people who can’t really remember who they are,” as lead writer Jay Newton-Small put it.

9. UnaliWear

UnaliWear’s Kanega watch aims to assuage the social stigma attached medical help devices by creating smartwatch that looks, well, like a normal watch. The watch provides support, medication reminders, directions and more, and doesn’t require a smartphone.

10. ReCall, RedCloud Project

ReCall is a way for family members to have long-distance conversations with dementia sufferers. The concept is an always-on software overlay that enables easy sharing of photos and videos as well as voice calls.