As experts in Parkinson’s disease treatment, with strong opinions on either side, John Dean and Josefa Domingos both jokingly admit they weren’t sure they liked each other when they first met.
Dean, a Colorado-based speech language pathologist specializing in the treatment of Parkinson’s and related disorders, met Domingos, a Portuguese physiotherapist and Parkinson’s specialist, during an industry event in the Centennial State a few years ago.
They began to run across each other at various conferences across the world and despite a somewhat rocky first encounter, co-founded Triad Health AI in 2017.
The company uses commercially available smart speakers such as the Amazon Alexa and the Google Home as a healthy-living platform that includes interactive exercise and health monitoring tools such as personalized medication and symptom tracking.
The exercise concept, called dual task exercise, combines movement, voice and cognition to strengthen patients both physically and mentally.
“I’ve been applying this in Portugal for some time,” Domingos said. “When I was visiting and saw Alexa, I said ‘oh my god you can actually apply the technology to this.’”
Through smart speakers, Triad Health’s program will have patients doing physical activities like walking in place and swinging their arms, while also performing basic cognitive tests, like repeating numbers or doing basic addition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdX0vwNaX74&feature=youtu.be
Because Parkinson’s directly impacts patient’s ability to multitask, dual task exercises were previously looked at as taboo in treatment. But, with research suggesting that exercise can help slow the effects of Parkinson’s, Dean said it’s important to leverage available technology as best we can.
“We see this as an opportunity to make a major leap forward with technology,” he said. “Smart speakers are going to be ubiquitous and they’re able to do things we couldn’t have thought of five years ago.”
Despite the technological advancements, Dean said Triad Health AI won’t replace the work done by therapists, but could boost the effectiveness of the patient’s treatment.
“Parkinson’s is a snowflake disease, no two people look alike. AI has a lot of power to do a lot of things, but its better implemented when its pointed by a person,” he said. “Our model has clinicians building the program with their patients, so they can practice it.”
Dean and Domingos are currently building the company in Portugal, due to the lower costs associated with growing a startup there. There are three full time employees working on the project, with the company hoping to hire developers in the coming months to build out the product. The company is currently looking to raise a $360,000 seed round.
Dean said he hopes to have a beta of the product released by the second quarter of this year and a complete product available in the fall.
As they continue to build and test the product, Triad Health will pitch at SXSW Pitch Event in March. Triad Health is one of four companies with Colorado ties pitching at the event.
