Everyone's talking about digitalization – but when an elderly person needs urgent (medical) assistance at home, they should rely on the home emergency call system. This is an outdated technology that is sometimes even perceived as stigmatizing – at least that's the opinion of the young Munich-based startup Qolware. With its LOLA app, it aims to help make health monitoring and emergency support intelligent – and thus bring them into the digital age.
But let’s start from the beginning with the question of who is actually behind Qolware A team that values multidisciplinarity, as co-founder Therese Tönnies assures us. The psychologist with a doctorate met her co-founder Christina Soaz, an electrical engineer by profession, six years ago. Both gathered ideas and impressions in the healthcare sector during their doctoral theses and their first professional steps. In 2016, they launched their project to design consumer devices such as smartphones and smartwatches for the benefit of chronic patients and seniors. The result: LOLA. A sensor-based system designed to make health monitoring and emergency support intelligent. But hasn't something like this existed already? Therese Tönnies comments:
"Actually, not really: Current solutions rely on outdated technology—keyword: home emergency call—which, on the one hand, is perceived as highly stigmatizing, and on the other, ignores the actual needs of users. For example, these systems are supposed to promote a safe and active lifestyle, but their range is limited to about 10 to 20 meters. This doesn't support gardening, a walk in the woods, or a trip to the nearest bakery."
“We are sometimes talking about digital watches instead of smartwatches.”
More flexibility is needed! That's why Qolware is focusing on smartwatches, which could also be called "digital watches." Because, as founder Tönnies tells us, the way they communicate can help ease older people's fear of new technology:
“We sometimes just talk about digital watches instead of smartwatches – and it’s already a familiar device that you can definitely try out.”
In general, she takes the criticism about whether the use of digital devices is even realistic in a relaxed manner. After all, older people will also learn how to use communication apps to stay in touch with the younger generation and participate in their lives. In her view, it's all a question of motivation and the actual value of a service.
So what value does LOLA have for the user? With the help of the smartwatch, physiological signals such as body movement and heart rate, as well as deviations from daily routines, are recorded and analyzed. If the algorithm detects an emergency—for example, a fall—an alarm is triggered, which can also be canceled manually. An SOS call can also be triggered manually by the user, independently of the system. The system works—unlike a home emergency call system—independently of location and, thanks to GPS tracking, can even help emergency services locate the wearer in an emergency. The data collected in this way can also be used to identify health risks at an early stage. Another value for the user: LOLA can be used as a reminder and tracking tool for regular medication intake. This data can be of interest not only to the patient themselves, but also to their family or medical care.
With its approach, the Munich-based startup is certainly breaking new ground, one that also presents it with repeated challenges. Detecting the movement and health patterns of people with limited mobility and not in optimal health requires objective measurement tools that go far beyond the usual standards like pedometers or calorie counts. Sensor technology is in demand. Tönnies sees her startup as well-positioned in this area:
“This is precisely where the very strong research background of our development team as well as our partnerships with clinics and research institutes help.”
“We are ready to launch the first version of our app”
And how is business going?
"We have received approximately €220,000 in public funding over the past 18 months, including from BMWi Exist, EIT Health, and ESA. This has enabled us to overcome the many small and large technical challenges, gain partners in the charitable and clinical sectors, solidify our strategy, and, last but not least, build a solid team, so that we are now ready to launch the first version of our app."
The Qolware team no longer consists only of the two founders, but has grown to include five additional employees from the areas of development, marketing and legal & finance.
And even though very few of the team members come from Munich, the young startup feels at home in the Bavarian capital because:
"Munich is clearly not Berlin, but perhaps that's precisely why the Bavarian startup scene is more serious or well-founded – many startups are spin-offs from research, which, like us, bring new approaches to the areas of healthcare, mobility, and energy with a solid foundation."
Qolware's goal of solid, value-generating growth could also be considered serious and well-founded. And according to Tönnies' assessment, the chances of achieving this very goal seem quite good right now:
"The health and care sector is sluggish, but especially now, when the old strategies clearly cannot address the demographic trend in the long term, there is a desperate search for new solutions and business models."
