Introducing Forsent Health & Eva Moments
By Stuart Ogawa (Co-founder & CTO)
Today, I’m excited to announce our first beta release of Eva Moments on Android devices for seniors, caregivers, and care facilities.
For the past 3 years, the Forsent Health team has been researching artificial intelligence and the brain. Eva Moments is our solution and the product of 560,000 minutes in studying the before and after efficacy of Eva with 106+ seniors, professional and family caregivers, and care facilities in North America.
Our mission is to become the world’s most loved assistant for seniors and families.
We couldn’t be happier to bring joy, smiles, and laughter to your loved ones.
I’d love to share a glimpse into our path towards reaching one of our first milestones today.
The Road to Forsent Health & Eva Moments
Eva was developed after becoming a caregiver for my mom, who has dementia, and providing her with 18 months of caregiving. Receiving calls from Mom between 1AM to 4AM, became a regular event. Hearing the confusion and anxiety in her voice, and knowing I was limited in my ability to help her on the spot, drove me to come up with Eva.
Mom would call and ask questions such as, “Did you pay the property taxes?”, “Is Joshua still coaching gymnastics?”, and “Is Camden still playing piano?”. Only 15 minutes later, Mom would call again asking the same questions; this would go on all night.
One evening over dinner while exhausted, I was talking with my wife and it dawned on me.
What if we had a voice-assistant like application that could answer Mom’s questions and comments? It would save me from sheer physical and mental burnout, and help me become a more loving and patient father & husband.
Eva was born, over dinner, in late August 2017.
How did we come up with the name Eva? Eva is one of our guinea pigs. Eva is the brown pig on the right, and Jennifer is the pig on the left.
What is Eva Moments?
Our team is technology-led, and focused from the early beginnings on creating the first conversational AI digital care voice-assistant.
In the video above, my sons Camden and Joshua created a narrated “hot rod” personalized Show for me. All I had to do was ask Eva to “play hot rod” to watch the Show, made up of photos and videos, and relive my favorite memories with my kids in building a hot rod car from scratch.
This is the heart of Eva Moments.
Eva Moments is a personality app that’s activated by your voice with simple commands.
We originally designed Eva to meet some of the biggest challenges we heard from our research with caregivers and seniors — anxiety, loneliness, and affordable support.
While working closely with caregivers, we also learned that many middle-aged people and seniors without cognitive decline were eager to use Eva for their own enjoyment.
Instead of the old-fashioned way of pulling out your smartphone to proudly show off your kids, projects, and hobbies with a single picture, Eva tells fun stories to show off your kids and crafts through interactive photos, videos, and family voices that are far more exciting and engaging than a lifeless picture.
Today, Eva Moments expands on our original goal based on this research.
Eva engages both seniors and the young at heart with meaningful Shows made from family voices, videos, and photos, and brings calm and laughter as they watch their favorite hobbies, interests, and family hallmark moments.
How Eva Moments Works
We built Eva Moments to be so simple, any person, including grandma, can show you how to use it!
- Families and caregivers begin by downloading the free Eva Moments app on their loved one’s Android device.
- Then, they create and narrate personalized Shows by mixing photos and videos.
- Family can watch these Shows anytime by saying a few simple words.
For example, for a Show about your daughter’s piano recital, you can name the Show with keywords like “piano” and “Sky’s recital”, and your mom can say “play Sky’s recital” or “play piano” to watch the Show.
While conducting research at care facilities and private homes, our team quickly understood that many seniors don’t have reliable WiFi or Internet access.
As a result, we specially re-coded Eva to work without the Internet.
How Caregivers use Eva Moments
Over 2019, we kicked off Eva beta testing with over 106 seniors of all backgrounds and ethnicities, care facilities, and caregivers.
For caregivers of seniors who live with anxiety, dementia, or other cognitive impairment, we learned that there’s a universal need to find easier ways to support their loved one and uplift their emotional, social, and mental health. Particularly without the toll of caregiver stress and burnout.
With this in mind, we witnessed the transformative effects of Eva on seniors, when they used Eva to watch Shows of their hobbies and accomplishments, hear from family, or hear their favorite songs.
One resident at a care facility in Ontario, Canada used to be a farmer with late stage dementia. When using Eva to watch Shows of other farmers milking cows, the center’s caregivers said he almost instantly calms down and smiles.
For the caregivers themselves, we also learned that people really like to tell stories with Eva.
Eva Moments is a more expressive and fun way for people of all ages to proudly share interactive Shows of their families and happy memories with friends.
Hearing about these special moments and the difference Eva has made to people’s lives and well-being is what fuels us at Forsent Health.
Conversational & Reminiscence Therapy
If there’s one key lesson we’ve taken away from all our beta testers and even our own families, it’s the power of conversational and reminiscence therapy.
Conversational and reminiscence therapy resurfaces memories that feel tangible, and brings to life your passions and purpose.
When watching a Show with a younger version of myself and my sons building a hot rod car in the garage, I can almost feel the raw metal parts we assembled and hear the boys chasing each other around the driveway.
Aki, one of our Eva beta testers, captures this best:
“Eva lets me engage my mom in watching special moments about her life and family. You can just see the look of fascination on Mom’s face when she’s watching videos of herself in an interview decades ago, at the age of 63. It’s truly a special way to engage her brain.”
— Aki, daughter & caregiver to mom
I’m incredibly proud of what the Forsent Team has built, and thankful for the support we’ve gotten from caregivers, care facilities, health experts, and health pioneers around the world.
The road with Forsent Health and Eva Moments is only beginning. I can’t wait to share more updates and take you along our journey of building Eva to bring more joy into the lives of caregivers and seniors.
To be part of a community facing life experiences similar to you, get expert caregiving tips, and win monthly giveaways, join our Facebook Group The Eva Caregivers Support Group 💬.
📱 Want to bring joy, smiles, and laughter to your loves? Download Eva Moments for Android. If they have an iPhone, sign up for early access.
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