For Tiara Grant, relocating from Albuquerque to Las Cruces for an intensive 12-week pre-incubation program at Arrowhead Technology Incubator (ATI) was an easy move.
“I knew that New Mexico State University had a strong engineering program,” said Grant. “After researching numerous incubators, I decided ATI could best help me achieve my goals.”
Grant is a NMSU alumni and has worked in the information technology field since 2008, studying areas in information security, secure coding practices and object oriented programming languages, database and network design, IT project management and unified modeling language, or UML. While earning her master’s in computer science, Grant knew she wanted to develop a technology that would focus on senior care.
Her company, Omnius Technologies, will allow her to focus on the development of a technology that will help senior citizens stay independent at home through the use of a personal emergency alert system.
“While at ATI, I hope to explore the market potential of my technology, create a white paper and market/communications plan, and explore SBIR/STTR (Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer) funding opportunities,” said Grant. “I have an intense desire to help senior citizens while reducing the costs associated with hospital stays.”
Grant’s technology is comprised of a personal emergency alert system that will work with wireless sensors to transmit information to a secure cloud server and monitor for potential emergencies 24/7. If an emergency should occur, a trained call representative will first assess the situation through video or a phone call, then contact emergency services if the emergency is deemed critical.
“As the older adult’s transitions through the personas, the application will promote a higher quality of life in an independent living setting, reduce trips to the ER, and take a more proactive approach than the current personal emergency alert devices in fall detection, dementia and Alzheimer location management, treatment management and health and wellness management,” Grant said.
The application will collect data including bathroom usage, wakefulness, food preparation (in case an oven or stove is left on), home temperature, medication adherence and the monitoring of vital signs such heart rate, weight scale, body temperature, blood pressure, respiration and glucose levels, as well as the sensors built into the home to administer and monitor prescription usage.
Grant is also working with Arrowhead Center’s NM FAST program to submit a Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) proposal to fund the development of this technology.
Information from NMSU