City-Tech in Tokyo, Japan February 2023

event review

City-Tech in Tokyo, Japan February 2023

tokyo, japan
February, 2023

In February 2023, the Living Best Professional Community team had the pleasure of attending City-Tech, an exposition dedicated to showcasing the latest innovations in urban innovation and technology. Held at Tokyo International Forum and organized by the City of Tokyo, the event was made possible with the support of American Express, ENEOS, Mitsubishi Estate, and Shimz. In this review, we will provide an overview of the event and highlight five age-tech companies that stood out.

Overview of the Event:

City-Tech brought together a total of just over 300 exhibitors from over 60 countries and from over 290 cities. Attended by more than 26.000 attendees, the main purpose of the event was to showcase the latest innovations in urban technology and provide a platform for industry professionals to network and share knowledge.

Age-Tech Exhibitors:

While there were numerous innovative companies present at the event, here we highlight five companies that stood out to us:

Magic Shields

Magic Shields, founded in 2019, is a startup that researches and develops new materials and structures “mechanical metamaterials” based on automotive engineering and medicine. To reduce the increasing number of fractures caused by falls worldwide, Magic Shields has developed COROYAWA, an innovative floor material to combine the two properties of “walking stability” and “shock absorption,” which were previously considered difficult to combine. Visit Magic Shield’s website here: https://coroyawa.com/

LOOVIC

LOOVIC is a device designed to solve the challenges of those who have difficulty with spatial cognition. It is an IoT device that is worn around the neck and uses tactile notifications and bone-conduction voice to guide the user along the way as naturally as if someone were there guiding the user in person. LOOVIC’s technology solves the problems of those who wish to be able to go out on their own. Visit LOOVIC’s website here: https://www.loovic.co.jp/

Aikomi

Aikomi delivers digital therapy that utilizes AI to realize “person-centered care” to support those with dementia in living their lives as fully as possible. In order to realize person-centered care, it is essential to connect people with dementia with their families and medical/welfare workers through “dialogue,” “involvement,” and “connection.” Visit Aikomi’s website here: https://www.aikomi.co.jp/

iAMBITION

iAMBITION Technology’s iSafe and iCare systems includes 3D de-identified sensing technology, integrated artificial intelligence models, and a visualized situation centre platform. This helps tracking the health and daily routines of aging adults. Visit iAMBITION’s website here: http://www.i-ambition.com/en

ekei

ekei.glytra assesses biological age by measuring chronic inflammations. With the ability to react quickly to changes in lifestyle, these biomarkers provide invaluable feedback to help users build a longevity strategy tailored to their unique needs. Visit ekei’s website here: https://www.ekeilabs.com/

Wrap-Up

Overall, City-Tech was an excellent opportunity to explore the latest technology innovations – including age-tech – and to connect with industry professionals from around the world. The event provided a valuable platform for companies to showcase their products and services, and for attendees to learn about new developments in the field. We look forward to attending similar events in the future and continuing to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in age-tech.

CareTEX in Tokyo, Japan March 2023

Event Review

event review

CareTEX in Tokyo, Japan March 2023

tokyo, japan
March, 2023

$Care$

In March 2023, the Living Best Professional Community team had the pleasure of attending CareTEX, an exposition dedicated to showcasing the latest innovations in nursing and long-term caring. Hosted by Boutiques, inc., a leading company-matching platform in Japan, the event was held at Tokyo Big Sight, one of the largest exhibition halls in the city. In this review, we will provide an overview of the event and highlight five age-tech companies that.

Overview of the Event:

CareTEX brought together a total of 320+ exhibitors. The main purpose of the event was to showcase the latest innovations and technology in nursing services and equipment and provide an opportunity for industry professionals to network and share knowledge.

Age-Tech Exhibitors:

While there were numerous innovative companies present at the event, here we highlight five companies that stood out to us:

SAWANNA

SAWANNA is derived from the word “touchless”, and the biggest feature is “to be able to take out wet wipes without touching them”. It is a product that automatically places a wet tissue directly on the user’s palm without pressing a button or opening the lid. Visit SAWANNA’s website here: https://sawanna.jp

Polar

For the past 40 years, Polar has explored the truths about the human body every day. What is the human body trying to tell us? The company has tackled this grand question by reviewing massive amounts of data and striving to advance science over time. Heart rate measurement using a wearable device. Visit Polar’s website here:: https://www.polar.com/ja/

HUG

The Hug L1 is a mobility support robot designed to assist people who have difficulty standing up on their own. It helps with transfers from bed to wheelchair (or wheelchair to chair) and can be used for long-term nursing care at home. The robot is easy to operate and can be covered by nursing care insurance. Visit the website here: https://www.fuji.co.jp/en/about/hug/

Vayyar

Vayyar’s sensors use radio waves to create images and can detect movement, breathing, and other vital signs. The company’s technology has been used in fall detection systems for the elderly, as well as for breast cancer screening and more. Visit Vayyar’s website here: https://vayyar.com/

SaToilet

SaToilet designs toilet for aging and disabled individuals. It features a raised seat, armrests, and a non-slip surface for safety. The toilet also has a built-in bidet and dryer for convenience and hygiene. Visit the website here: https://www.gamakatsu.co.jp/kaigo/products/satoilet/

Wrap-Up

Overall, CareTEX was an excellent opportunity to explore the latest innovations in the wider world of nursing and long-term healthcare, including age-tech and care-tech, and connect with industry professionals from around Japan. The event provided a valuable platform for companies to showcase their products and services, and for attendees to learn about new developments in the field. We look forward to attending similar events in the future and continuing to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in these areas.

Heads, Hands and Hearts for Age-Tech

Health & Wellness

Heads, Hands and Hearts for Age-Tech

tokyo, japan

20221215 tcg blog head hands hearts age tech feature

In October 2022, The Carter Group-Japan Market Resource Network launched its Living Best initiative via a half-day event featuring a star-studded cadre of speakers and panelists from both Japan and abroad.

Overview of the Event:

This inaugural event was a wakeup call and challenge to stakeholders to “make this a beginning in super-charging the ecosystem for age-tech start-ups in Japan,” as Dominic Carter, CEO of The Carter Group so aptly put it.

Japan is experiencing the test of managing its unprecedentedly ageing population – the oldest in the world. While Japan leads in this distinction (with nearly 30% of its population aged 65+), the challenge of rapid aging is global, with societies around the globe grappling with innovating solutions and approaches to meet the demands presented.

However, never have we been better placed to rise to the challenge. Advanced technology provides opportunities to improve our quality of life as we age, enhancing physical capabilities as well as emotional connectedness and happiness.

Japan represents a centre of age-tech innovation and is the real-time consumer laboratory for developments in the new area known as age-tech.

Age-tech products and services are at the intersection of ageing and technology, encompassing a wide range of solutions for ageing adults and those who care for them – everything from simple wearables for health tracking to robotic exo-skeletons that aid mobility, to social companionship options, and beyond.

With all this in mind, this event brought together 120 visionary minds designing the future of age-tech for Japan and the rest of the world (i.e., entrepreneurs, startups, investors, established enterprises, universities, research institutes, and government agencies), fostering the meaningful connections needed to collaborate in the age-tech venture space.

Held at the Tokyo American Club (TAC), Heads, Hands & Hearts for Age-Tech was conducted in cooperation with the Vitality Swiss program of the Embassy of Switzerland in Japan.

Speakers and Panelists:

Helping to super-charge the vision of Living Best through dialog and illuminating comments were a host of international and domestic speakers. Please refer to https://www.living-best.tech for further details regarding all speakers and panelists, as well as replay links:

Keynote Speaker

Keren Etkin

Author of The AgeTech Revolution, founder of The Gerontechnologist, advisor to age-tech startups, investors, care providers, and innovators in the global longevity economy.

Special Guest Speaker

Ken Mogi

Neuroscientist, broadcaster, and author of Awakening Your Ikigai and The Way of Nagomi and many other books covering popular science, criticism and self-help.

Panelists on Japan’s age-tech ecosystem and success factors

Mr. Osamu Kobayashi

Department of International Affairs, Japan Science and Technology Agency Kobe (JST), promoting international joint research programs (SICORP, SATREPS, e-ASIA programs).

Dr. Ryuta Kawashima

Director of the Smart Ageing International Research Center, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University; prize-winning scientific output in cognitive brain mapping.

Dr. Akiko Kishi Svensson

Chief Medical Officer of the MEDMIRAI, a startup company funded by The University of Tokyo IPC, which accelerates research results into healthcare and medical services.

Mr. Hiroyuki Suzuki, Ph.D.

Leading initiatives with start-up support through Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) and XBorder Innovations, Inc. (XBI), while establishing a global innovation ecosystem in Keihanna Science City.

Takeshi Haeno

Partner at Monitor Deloitte Japan, responsible for healthcare industry strategy services, with expertise in both private and public sectors. Co-author of “Healthcare Innovation Strategy for the Future.”

Age-tech start-ups and business ventures… already demonstrating great promise in improving the lives of aging adults globally and in Japan, shared their basic concepts live, ranging from memory capture and playback (La Camera della Felicita) to software to help hospitals manage risks related to post-operative delirium (PIPRA) and onward to an app that helps aging adults with health, wellness and companion care (CareMates).

In addition, four age-tech start-ups shared their concepts via video … ranging from early dementia diagnostics and memory assistance (Hippo Camera) to communications that contributes to greater sociability (SAIL), to artificial intelligence robotics that helps with reduction of social isolation (Intuition Robotics) to in-home robotics to help with aging in place and independent living (Toyota Research Institute).

Wrap-Up

Committed to enabling age-tech product development that is authentically human centric, The Carter Group-Japan Market Resource Network serves as a catalyst for tech-enabled product and service development that contributes to creating an ageless society through its Living Best Professional Community and Living Best User Community – both launched with the Heads, Hands & Hearts event.

Living Best Professional Community is a global knowledge-sharing and networking platform that connects interested parties in the world of age-tech in Japan, wherever they may be.

Living Best User Community, is a consumer-based platform that connects age-tech developers with Japanese older adult users to test product preferences and necessary adaptations.