CIO

Digital human cardiac coaches ready by 2020

Tech startup www.12080.ai takes on a global health problem
Marie Johnson, www.12080.ai co-founder

Marie Johnson, www.12080.ai co-founder

Tech startup www.12080.ai has secured funding from Kiwi entrepreneur and angel investor Garth Sutherland to build a better model for cardiac support using the digital human platform from FaceMe.

The digital human cardiac coaches (DHCC) will support patient education through natural conversations, reducing the impact of health illiteracy.

“We are moving fast, engaging globally to deliver the DHCC to meet the demand for telehealth and augmented health services," says Marie Johnson, www.12080.ai co-founder.

She explains the significance of the startup’s name: “120/80 is the gold standard for blood pressure and is emphasised as part of cardiac rehabilitation and education programmes.”

The company says the minimum viable product (MVP) will be ready by early 2020, and a demonstration of the video, which was co-designed with heart patients, can already be viewed at FaceMe’s website.  

Cardiovascular disease is the largest cause of death worldwide, and is officially classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, notes Johnson.

It is estimated more than 350 million people worldwide have cardiovascular disease, and an estimated 17.9 million people die from the disease each year.

At the same time, health illiteracy is a silent killer impacting populations globally. 

This affects people who can not read and understand brochures, forms, instructions, websites, apps, medicine labels, nutrition information, and general health concepts.

Thus, the digital human cardiac coach is being developed as an intelligent platform supporting patient education through empathetic conversations. 

The digital coach overcomes the barriers and stigma of health illiteracy and innumeracy by enabling natural contextual conversations with the patient/carer/health professional at any time. 

It can explain in simple language concepts regarding medicines, rehabilitation and care plans for the patient.

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