EchoCare Technologies Ltd. (“EchoCare”) has completed a first round of investment through a group of strategic investors, including Centrica, through Idan Mor’s Innovation Centrica investment fund, Residential Aged Australia’s Pty Ltd (“LifeView”), the Tigbur Group and a private investor.
In addition to the investments secured, EchoCare also announced the appointment of Orit Benvenisti (CEO of Tigbur Group) to its Board of Directors. Orit brings many years of experience in the field of supervision of the elderly in their homes and senior living housing facilities. She joins at a critical time as the company moves forward with the investment to manufacture and commercialize the product in the global market.
EchoCare, founded in 2015, has developed the Elderly Care Home Observer (ECHO) system, a unique sensing system for the care of the elderly during their stay at home. ECHO uses a unique and safe radar which alerts an emergency operator or caregiver automatically after situations such as severe falls, heavy breathing due to distress, prolonged lack of movement, as well as keeping track of the user’s daily activity and recording any indications of a deterioration of health. Due to being non-wearable unlike many other systems on the market, senior citizens can benefit from ECHO without having to worry about remembering to switch on, charge and wear a smart device.
A lot of the non-wearable systems already on the market use a camera to monitor the user in their home. However, many have reported this feature to be off-putting and an invasion of privacy. ECHO’s technology provides the solution to these issues, with a radar acting as the digital eyes and ears for the elderly person’s caregivers and family members. The system provides a unique solution and promotes independence for a growing population of adults who live alone. The company has conducted extensive testing and demonstrations of the systems in the USA, Japan and Israel.
“We are proud to present a breakthrough technological solution that will significantly ease the existing distress of the growing elderly population worldwide,” said Rafi Zach, founder and CEO of EchoCare. Distressing emergency situations are common among the elderly population. However, when it comes to the private home, the elderly want to be free from any wearable or invasive device that could violates their privacy. The ECHO system meets these requirements and promotes independent living for the elderly. Our strategic cooperation with leading companies and completion of the first financing round will enable us to market ECHO in international markets. In the coming year, we expect to deploy dozens of systems in sheltered housing in Israel and around the world. “
Ran Bar-Sella, EchoCare’s Chairman and CEO of Incubit Ventures, said: “EchoCare brings a significant line to the third-generation monitoring solutions market based on breakthrough technology. The company focused on its initial stages and in the framework of the incubator, in removing the technological risks. The ability developed has enabled the company to attract strategic investors to help it develop access to the market. I am proud of the team and its many achievements and am happy that the company is moving to the next stage, which will focus on bringing the product to the global market and confident in its success. “
As the global over-60 population grows faster than any other age group, systems such as ECHO will become ever more in demand to ensure elderly people around the world can live independently, but have access to immediate, quality care in the case of an accident. ECHO’s non-intrusive nature and advanced radar technology means elderly users and their families will have their ‘what if’ worries alleviated without the users having to carry the device around at all times.
Disclosure: This article includes a client of an Espacio portfolio company
