Tag: Senior Citizens

12. Fahad Aziz, Cofounder and CTO of Caremerge

In this episode, Fahad Aziz shares his insights into his journey as Caremerge’s cofounder. Fahad offers great stories including what he learned from living in a senior living community, why “Facebook for health care” wasn’t such a great idea, and what advice he has for aspiring gerontechnologists.

0:42 What does Caremerge provide?

1:35 Where did the idea for Caremerge come from?

4:27 At what point did you start to expand into other technologies? Was this the plan from the beginning?

7:26 Was there immediate buy-in with voice activation technologies? Or did you have to elaborate on the value proposition?

9:00 What was the biggest surprise from living in a senior living community and how did it shape the way that you built your company?

11:15 How have you seen seniors defying ageist stereotypes and what is the next wave of technologies that seniors will use to improve quality of life?

13:40 How have you been using data to predict falls?

15:34 How will community personnel use this additional data that indicates high fall risks?

17:02 How has your role changed with Caremerge’s growth?

20:20 What advice do you have for someone who is looking to work in gerontechnology?

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10. Vy Chazen, Manager of Virtual Programs at Mather LifeWays, Talks VR for Older Adults

Vy Chazen using VR with a Mather LifeWays resident. Photo courtesy of Lori Keenan

In her role as Manager of Virtual Programs at Mather LifeWays, Vy Chazen has been expanding perceptions of how older adults can use immersive technology.

She has shared her industry wisdom on many big stages, including as a speaker at Aging 2.0 and as a lecturer at Northwestern University. Vy even hosts her own VR Talk Show, The Hive with Vivian, and writes for VRespawn. She’s a highly respected expert in this space and she offers her insights throughout the episode.

If you’d like to connect with Vy, check out her twitter: https://twitter.com/vrchazen

1:25 How did you first get involved with Virtual Reality?

4:40 Explanation of the VR “Degrees of Freedom” Concept

5:50 What are some of the incorrect notions you’ve seen related to VR usage and how can we combat them?

15:40 How did the older adults react to Onward (A multiplayer shooter game)

17:00 Where does Mather LifeWays’ push for innovation stem from and how does the team avoid the trappings of complacency?

23:30 Considering your location near Northwestern University, have you created any University partnerships?

33:10 What are some unique skills that people can bring to this industry?

45:05 What are your parting words of wisdom for somebody who is looking to use immersive technologies with the older adult population?

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