Visseiro @ IFA 2020

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. 

1. a brief presentation of our vision and the #visseiro technology

VISSEIRO was founded in Berlin in October 2018. #visseiro is a care startup that has set itself the goal of enabling senior citizens to age in dignity. To this end, #visseiro develops and markets support systems for everyday life at home, which can implicitly record and process #health data in a data protection-compliant manner and can be made available to relatives and care personnel.

The first solution for security at home is often emergency buttons or (Senior:innen fair) Smartwatches. Senior citizens usually want to use these, but all too often fail to use them because of complex operation, small screens or simply forget to wear them. The solution - support systems that can be integrated unnoticed into everyday life, where nobody can do anything wrong with their operation and still maintain the self-determination of the senior:indoors.

The #visseiro system is available as a seat cushion or integrated into an armchair from January 2021. Both the seat cushion and the armchair cannot be seen in the technology - so there is no feeling of hospital or general ill-health.

With the seat cushion or via the armchair, reliable long-term data on

- respiratory frequency

- Pulse

- Heart rate variability

- Other #health parameters (currently under development) can be included.

And because we were asked to do so more often: Yes, the system recognises when your dog has sat down on the pillow. So there is no danger of confusion or of triggering an emergency call.

The #visseiro TEAM is working on integrating the system into existing Smart Home or Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) systems.

Who gets the data:

The #visseiro system is complemented by a web #app where relatives or care staff can see how the:m Senior:in is doing. And it is explicitly not about monitoring but about a more intensive connection between Senior:in and relatives. The application provides relatives with information about the state of #health and at the same time gives recommendations. This can be the recommendation of a visit to a doctor or the advice to invite the senior citizen to a walk together.

In this way, the #visseiro system helps to relieve the burden on relatives.

- Fewer necessary routine measures and therefore more time for social interaction

- Trustworthy information that supports decisions and eliminates the feeling of "I don't understand it

Since the months before its creation, the #visseiro team has been developing the core element of the solution: implicit vital signs measurement

The implicit measurement of vital parameters

The bulky word ballistocardiography describes what #visseiro would describe as a revolution in vital signs recording. It is a very reliable method of measurement, which is based directly on the movement of the heart (or any other muscle in the body, then allergings without cardio).

The oscillations triggered by the movement of the muscle spread throughout the body. And can be measured in many places. Even through clothing.

And this is where a person's dearest habit comes into play: On average, people over the age of 65 sit for eight hours a day. So why not measure this data through the buttocks. So it is like this: We sit and do something for our #health.

The patent-pending sensor technology integrated into the seat cushion absorbs these vibrations. Using AI-based algorithms, these vibrations are analysed and translated into individual #health values.

These #health values can then be used, for example, to derive a stress factor or a general #health score - always individually for the person using the seat.

The #visseiro system stands out from other providers. These are the most important aspects that make the #visseiro technology special:

- 0-button solution: no need to switch on, change or switch off.

- Simply sit down: no need to learn new behaviour. Simply sit down is enough.

- Adapted to your daily routine: there is a high level of adherence to the technology, which means it can be seamlessly integrated into existing routines.

- No direct skin contact: The system works through clothing.

- Long-term #health: no premature conclusions about the state of #health from acute data, but forecasts from long-term measurements.

2. facts why we have to rethink care in old age

According to the Federal Statistical Office, 16.9 million people live in their homes alone, 5.8 million of whom are 65 years old or older.

In 2018, 17.4 million people over 65 years of age represented 21% of the total population in Germany. There are only a few specific and needs-oriented digital support systems for them.

In December 2017, 3.41 million people in Germany were in need of care within the meaning of the Long-Term Care Insurance Act (SGB XI). Of these, almost 2.6 million live at home and about 50% of them are only cared for by relatives.

3. information on VISSEIRO

Name: #visseiro GmbH

Note: The name #visseiro is an acronym and stands for the technology developed

Company headquarters: Bismarckstrasse 10-12, 10625 Berlin

Managing Director: Pirmin Kelbel

Date of foundation: October 2018

Contact details: pirmin.kelbel@visseiro.com

Full-time employees: 5

5th #visseiro in the media

6th VISSEIRO's founding history from a business perspective

With over 600 million seniors worldwide and millions of caregivers missing, our technology fills the gap for efficient and safe #health monitoring at home. "The #visseiro solution will be an indispensable tool for home care" - says Prof. Dr. Jochen Maas; Head of R & D Sanofi-Aventis GmbH. Heart disease is the most common cause of death among senior citizens (45%). In Germany incurs costs of up to 355 billion euros annually as a result. The estimated market potential in Germany alone is 1 billion euros. The consulting firm Deloitte forecasts an average annual increase of 4% in this segment.

As a buyer target group, #visseiro addresses "best agers" who buy the product for their parents (users) in need of help or care. In the long term, our solution is intended to achieve partial reimbursement of costs by #health insurance companies. The current law on the reimbursement of digital #health solutions paves the way for us in this respect.

80% of the target group consists of women aged between 35 and 60 years who care for their parents.

7. our personal founder story

We, Janek and Pirmin, have known each other since the beginning of our studies and thus for almost a decade. Together we have mastered challenges and celebrated successes. We are both driven by the desire to solve problems. For many years, we have therefore taken on problems in large German corporations and helped develop solutions. In the process, we have also noticed that many good ideas get lost in corporate structures.

At the end of our studies, one thing was therefore clear to both of us: in order to actually bring about change, we had to found our own company.

We started in 2018 with a vision for implicit vital signs recording for newborns. Frightening events such as Sudden Infant Death among friends and acquaintances provided the initial moment for this.

A sudden change in the situation of our grandparents then raised the question of how we could help with #visseiro in the short term. This has led to the pivot of #visseiro in addition to a system for Senior:innen.

It was clear from the outset that technology should not separate people, but bring them closer together. It is on the basis of these principles that we are still designing the #visseiro system today.

In several series of interviews we found out what demands are made on the system by our users. Early on we integrated test users:in the development process.

We also found out that our target group is not so easy to find. That they are virtually not represented in the digital cosmos. And that is also a result of the fact that products are often not developed especially for them. The Covid-19 pandemic has further intensified this effect. For self-protection, older people have also disappeared from the public image to a greater extent. At the same time, they have learned many new digital technologies in order to remain in contact with their relatives.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown something else: Recording #health values in one's own four walls can be much safer than staying in hospitals or outpatient wards.

This insight has strengthened us in our mission.

Dignified ageing in your own home.