STAT Plus: For homebound people and their distant caregivers, smarter speakers to keep track of their health

Every day, Kathleen McVicar of Cotuit, Mass., has a few simple questions for her 85-year-old mother in Virginia. How well did she sleep? Did she remember to eat breakfast, to take her meds, to check her voicemails?

McVicar could get the answers by making an endless series of phone calls throughout the day. Instead, she just checks her email every morning. The previous day’s answers are there, rounded up and compiled by her mother’s voice-activated personal assistant, a device called LifePod which is programmed to ask questions instead of just answering them.

Continue to STAT Plus to read the full story…

Read Original Article: STAT Plus: For homebound people and their distant caregivers, smarter speakers to keep track of their health »