TECH BOW WOW
Virtual pet help for dementia patients
IF YOU WANT to find the innovators in New York City’s burgeoning health tech industry, follow the talking dog.
Victor Wang, the 26-year-old founder of a SoHo-based tech startup called GeriJoy, believes he can help dementia patients with tablet-based virtual pets — and the city wants to support him along the way.
GeriJoy is one of 11 health care startups that have just won a grant from a city Economic Development Corp. program called PILOT Health Tech NYC.
The winners will split $1 million and use the funds to test their ideas in partnership with major health care institutions.
The goal is to foster job growth in health care, New York’s biggest employer with 633,800 workers. The city is hoping the program will bolster health care entrepreneurs and help local health care institutions latch on to the latest technology.
Last year’s winners of PILOT Health Tech NYC, which the city created i n partnership with the company Health 2.0, went on to raise a total of $150 million in funding.
“We know technology is going to transform the industry. We want to ensure those transformations occur in New York City,” Economic Development Corp. Executive Vice President Eric Gertler told the Daily News.
“We are seeing a number of really interesting technologies solving health issues t hat we never thought possible.”
One of those technologies is GeriJoy. Founded by MIT grad Wang two years ago, the company is essentially a remote care-giving service.
It employs a team of trained caregivers stationed in the Philippines who engage patients via cute talking pets in a tablet. The caregivers monitor patients through cameras and microphones built into the tablet.
Senior citizens interact via voice and touch. No typing or other tech knowledge is required. The virtual companion for seniors functions as a “watchdog,” too. When GeriJoy caregivers spot a problem, they speak to the patient, or call for help.
“We provide dementia-trained remote caregivers, who provide cost-effective oversight and companionship through the avatar of an adorable talking pet,” Wang told The News.
GeriJoy, in partnership with Pace University, recently tested the product on a group of seniors at the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side.
Now, with a $100,000 grant from the city, Wang will soon be testing GeriJoy in a hospital setting.
Mount Sinai Queens has agreed to be GeriJoy’s partner in a pilot. Starting this fall, elderly patients suffering from delirium or dementia will have GeriJoy tablets at their bedside.
“I know that GeriJoy will make a great impact on the health care and startup ecosystem in New York City,” Wang said.