"AIoT Expert" Humetrics Inc. Provides Comprehensive Smart Care Services through Big Data Analysis
At present, Taiwan's long-term care industry is facing many challenges, and one significant issue is the lack of caregivers. In particular, as the issues of low birthrates and aging population become increasingly serious, the long-term care industry has begun to seek more efficient and smarter solutions to improve care quality.
After identifying such trends, a group of tech specialists with years of industrial experience founded Humetrics Inc. in a bid to develop smart healthcare solutions. The core members of Humetrics Inc. all have solid experience. Two of them hold a PhD in electrical engineering from National Taiwan University and are responsible for technology R&D. Another member who holds an MS of electrical engineering from the University of Toronto has worked in the field of medical materials both at home and abroad for many years, and thus has rich experience in the medical market. With in-depth understanding of IoT, AI learning, and biomedical signal processing, the team firmly believes that the long-term care problems in Taiwan can be mitigated through the county's ICT capabilities.
Therefore, since the establishment of the company in 2020, Humetrics Inc. has focused on developing products that can reduce the physical and mental burden of caregivers while improving the quality of care. With such endeavors, the company hopes to drive the entire industry to pay more attention to the "human needs." During the development process, Humetrics Inc. cooperated with on-site caregivers to conduct repeated testing and improvements to ensure that the product can meet actual needs. Their first prototype product used 3D object recognition technology to detect elders leaving the bed and falling incidents. However, during the trial period, they found the image-based solution was not suitable for the care scene in Taiwan. At the same time, the introduction of such technology would be difficult due to the high cost of sensors and the required installation work in advance. After rethinking and adjusting the design concept, Humetrics Inc. launched the "iCue Smart Care Assistant" (under-mattress sensing mat), which uses multiple sensors in the upper and lower mats and AI sensing technology to correctly determine the user's posture/position in bed (e.g., sitting, lying, not in bed, etc.). When an emergency occurs (such as an elder with a high risk of falling leaving the bed), the system will detect it immediately and automatically send a notification to caregivers or family members, who can then provide immediate assistance. What is more, Humetrics Inc. further used its patented AI algorithms to judge important life indicators (such as sleep quality, heart rate, and respiration rate) through data from multiple sensors. The regularly collected data can in turn help caregivers to communicate better with the patient's family and formulate appropriate care plans, while reducing the stress of front-line health workers.
"iCue Smart Care Assistant" is a sensing mat compatible with mattresses of various materials and specifications (e.g., thickness). You only need to place iCue under the original mattress and the multiple pressure sensors will start picking up signals to determine the user's position/posture in bed. Also, the device uses AI smart algorithms to analyze and measure the user's sleep, activity status, respiration rate, heart rate, and other information. Such data are then transmitted to the cloud, so the care team and all family members will be able to track the user's status anytime, anywhere on their personal device, including computers, tablets, and smartphones. Notifications can even be sent through messaging software to ensure the user's family can receive messages in the shortest time possible.
Humetrics Inc. has cooperated with a medical center to conduct clinical research. Experiment results show that iCue's respiration measurement accuracy is higher than 95%, showing its advantage over other similar products (smart mattresses). Another major feature of iCue is its non-contact sensing technology. The user does not need to wear any sensors or operate the device. They only need to lie in bed and iCue will start to monitor their conditions. Whether they are asleep or awake, turning over or lying on the side, iCue can accurately pick up signals and will not be affected by different mattress materials and thicknesses. When used under an electric bed, the bending of the bed will not affect iCue's accuracy, either. Even the air mattress commonly used for patients with pressure injuries will not affect iCue's accuracy. At the same time, the product is easy to install and only needs to be reset when relocated under a new mattress, which means it can quickly adapt to different users, allowing nursing institutions and caregivers to lower purchase costs and reduce unnecessary trouble.
Humetrics Inc. has a clear vision and blueprint for smart care in the future. Through the iCue sensing mat and other AIoT devices, it seeks to help medical institutions, long-term care institutions, and home care personnel with smart, efficient solutions, which can also ensure better care quality. So far, the company has received a lot of positive feedback from caregivers and home healthcare teams.
Since nursing institutions are often understaffed, their caregivers are usually overwhelmed by the workload, so the acceptance rate of new technologies often depends on how user-friendly the new system is. In this regard, iCue's human-machine interface design boasts the four features below, making it easier to be integrated into the workflow of practically all institutions:
- Warning for leaving bed within three seconds: When an elder with dementia or walking issues sit up or get out of bed, the system will automatically send a warning within three seconds; this makes iCue a great tool for night-shift nursing personnel because institutions usually do not have enough manpower during the night.
- Reminder for turning over after a long time of lying: For elders who have been in bed for a long time, you can set a customized time for a message to remind the user to turn over and avoid bedsores, allowing caregivers to work with less stress.
- Daily report for family members: The system will check the elder's daily sleep hours and the number of times they leave the bed at night to evaluate sleep quality; the data can then help caregivers develop personalized care plans, facilitating communication between institutions and families.
- Instant notification of individual settings: iCue provides a nursing station display monitor to keep track of each bed at a glance; iCue can also be bridged with LINE (a local messaging app) to instantly notify caregivers who are not at the nursing station of abnormalities so that immediate help can be provided if necessary.
At present, the main clients of Humetrics Inc. are residential long-term care institutions and nursing homes, but it also serves general home consumers with care needs. The opportunity for cooperation between Humetrics Inc. and the IoT Service Hub started from an empirical test project at the long-term care institution. iCue was initially introduced into the large-scale Chheng Hok Senior Home in Sanxia, New Taipei. During the introduction process, Humetrics Inc. provided complete services, including hardware installation, software development, education and training, etc. The experience accumulated from on-site demos and observations has also influenced the company's philosophy of product design and development, and even its views on the long-term care industry.
The IoT Service Hub has also actively created business opportunities for Humetrics Inc. In addition to cooperating with Chheng Hok Senior Home, the Hub has also continued to expose the product in different exhibitions, matchmaking meetings, and demo venues. More importantly, the IoT Service Hub strives to integrate all AIoT teams it serves in the long-term care industry, and will spare no effort to build an ecosystem for all industry players to work together instead of fighting alone.
Since Taiwan's current long-term care system is a mixture of social welfare and commercial practice, a number of unfavorable factors still persist for the promotion and popularization of smart care. For example, the charging standards for nursing institutions and the restrictions on the "Long-term Care Plan 2.0" subsidy targets may dissuade industry players from investing resources into the development of new technologies and products, thereby reducing the opportunities for local manufacturers to obtain market expansion. For manufacturers of IoT care equipment and assistive devices, if users are unable to apply for government subsidies and thus have to pay the full price for the equipment, such potential users will inevitably be less willing to make the purchase. Similarly, if there are no government funding for institutions, under the current system (which is limited by various charging standards and upper limits for subsidies) most institution operators will not see enough profits and incentives to introduce new equipment. All these factors have resulted in the current difficulties in the development of smart long-term care assistive devices in the local industry.
Long-term care is a global issue, faced by more and more countries as populations age and healthcare costs rise around the world. To solve this problem, the industry will definitely adopt more smart solutions and new technologies in the future to provide better care services. In this regard, Humetrics Inc. believes that they can bring more changes and value to the long-term care industry through technological innovation and continuous breakthroughs.