Livongo Health, a digital health business focused on chronic disease management, has revealed a new voice-enabled blood pressure monitoring system, the company announced Thursday.
The tool is powered by Amazon Lex, a service for building conversational interfaces into an application using voice and text, and Amazon Polly, a service that turns text into speech.
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The Mountain View, California company’s “cuff to cloud” experience lets users upload blood pressure readings to Livongo’s AI+AI engine. Following the blood pressure check, the engine will give a personalized voice “health nudge” to members. For instance, if the user has a high blood pressure reading, he or she might hear a voice nudge recommending they alter their nutrition to lower their sodium intake.
Ultimately, the goal of the tool is to let patients easily interact with Livongo and work toward behavior change and positive outcomes.
“Our new Amazon Lex and Amazon Polly powered cellular blood pressure monitoring system is a great example of the collaborative efforts Livongo is taking to advance healthcare and reach more people who prefer voice as their primary communication channel,” Livongo president Jennifer Schneider said in a statement.
In other news from Livongo, the California company recently purchased MyStrength, a Denver business offering mobile and web-based resources and therapies to address conditions like depression, anxiety, insomnia, substance use and stress with techniques including cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness.
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Livongo’s reliance on voice for its new hypertension tool marks a broader trend in the industry as other organizations seek to integrate voice tech into the patient experience.
Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles is one such example. Through a new pilot project, more than 100 patient rooms at the hospital are equipped with an Alexa-powered platform called Aiva, which patients can use to control their entertainment and interact with nurses. The select patient rooms contain Amazon Echos, and individuals can ask Alexa to turn off and on their TV or change the channel. They can also request nurse assistance.
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