Livongo, Cedars-Sinai double down on voice tech

Dive Brief:

• Chronic conditions platform Livongo on Thursday debuted a voice-enabled hypertension tool powered by Amazon Lex and Amazon Polly.
• The new tool, called “Cuff to Cloud,” lets users of Livongo’s voice-supported cellular blood pressure monitoring system upload blood pressure readings to the company’s AI+AI engine and receive a personalized voice “health nudge” regarding actions they might take.
• Separately, Cedars-Sinai has launched a pilot program to test Alexa-powered healthcare assistant Aiva in patient rooms.

Dive Insight:

The Livongo and Cedars-Sinai announcements come as voice tools are gaining traction and companies like Amazon and Google are looking for ways to expand their presence in healthcare. As home health technologies abound, voice assistants enable people to leverage voice to navigate devices and send and receive information. Hospitals are looking to voice to increase efficiencies and patient satisfaction.   

When users upload their BP readings onto the Livongo for Hypertension voice tool, they will get nudges to take steps such as changing their diet to reduce sodium intake. 

In the Cedars-Sinai pilot, more than 100 hospital rooms have been outfitted with an Alexa-powered platform called Aiva, allowing patients to control their entertainment and request help. Patient needs, such as getting out of bed, pain medicine and other requirements are dispatched to the mobile phone of the appropriate caregiver. 

“Whereas previously nurses were frequently asked to help with the in-room television, Alexa does that job for us, allowing nurses to focus on providing the highest level of patient care,” Golda Morales, assistant nurse manager of general surgery, said in a press release. 

Founded in 2016, Aiva Health took part in the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator the following year and subsequently received funding from the health system. The startup raised a total of $ 100,000 in a 2017 funding round, with Amazon’s Alexa Fund and Google Assistant Investment Program injecting an undisclosed amount of money in September.