Pilot A9 – Rendever

Grant Funding: SB1AG090151-01A1 – Improving Mental Health and Social Connectivity for Older Adults through Virtual Reality-Based Social Interventions

The MassAITC funded pilot project was the first to shift the use-case of the Rendever VR into the home setting. This grant furthers the push into the home by Rendever as a commercially viable solution to enable older adults aging at home to be more socially connected with their peers.This Commercial Readiness Pilot project builds on the success of their Phase I pilot study and Phase II STTR clinical trial by extending Rendever's virtual reality (VR) platform to enhance social connectivity among older adults who are aging in place, a majority of the aging population that Rendever is not yet serving. Older adults living at home will be connected with those living in senior living communities, where Rendever is already successfully implemented, through shared VR experiences. This project contributes to public health by testing the…

Continue ReadingGrant Funding: SB1AG090151-01A1 – Improving Mental Health and Social Connectivity for Older Adults through Virtual Reality-Based Social Interventions

Grant Funding: R41 AG092119

Continuation of VR technology development focused on the caregiver side of the dyad. Public Health Relevance Statement: The VR-CARES project is an innovative, collaborative effort that invites home health dementia caregivers into the design process of a virtual reality platform seeking to mitigate their work-related burden and social isolation by cultivating a virtual community of support. The co-created, caregiver-specific VR platform will serve as a safe, communal space where caregivers can remotely connect with their peers, share fun experiences together, access support, learn self-care and build resilience within a supportive virtual network to enhance their social and mental health and job satisfaction. Central to VR-CARES is the principle of user-led innovation, ensuring that the technology not only serves but is informed and successfully adopted by the very individuals it intends to benefit, an important standard…

Continue ReadingGrant Funding: R41 AG092119

Oral Presentation: Novel Technological Approaches for Detection of Cognitive and Functional Impairment

This is part of the monthly MassAITC webinar series. Abstract:  This webinar explored cutting-edge technologies aimed at improving early detection and monitoring of cognitive and functional impairments in older adults. Dr. Kate Papp (Mass General Brigham) opened the session by highlighting the challenges of traditional clinical assessments—lengthy, labor-intensive, and inaccessible to many—and the promise of scalable, remote, and ecologically valid digital tools to address the growing needs of an aging population. Three MassAITC pilot awardees presented innovative approaches: Dr. Eric Larson (Sonde Health) discussed testing a vocal biomarker platform that leverages AI to detect and monitor cognitive impairment via smartphone-based voice samples collected in home environments. Early findings show high participant engagement and promising accuracy in distinguishing cognitive status. Dr. Jennifer Stamps (Rendever) shared progress on a multimodal virtual reality (VR) fitness platform that combines physical exercise,…

Continue ReadingOral Presentation: Novel Technological Approaches for Detection of Cognitive and Functional Impairment