As pandemic-driven social distancing and self-isolation measures permeate society, safeguarding vulnerable people's mental and physical well-being is more important than ever. This trend had already led to a surge in technologies aimed at enabling loved ones and caregivers to monitor seniors and engage with them remotely, but the COVID-19 crisis has lent an air of urgency to the endeavor. A quick glance across this landscape shows fall-detection contraptions, targeted social networks, and more. Artificial intelligence (AI) in particular is gaining a firmer foothold, with AI-powered social companions and fancy wearables designed to track all manner of activity or changes in behavior. Fledgling Israeli startup MyndYou is using AI to help care providers assess and monitor elderly patients from afar, with a platform centered on passive data collection, automated engagement, and remote intervention.

NEW YORK – U.S. startups focusing on care products and services for the elderly are tapping into the graying Japanese market, where more than 35 million people are over the age of 65. Seismic, a California-based apparel company, hopes to expand in Japan with its Powered Clothing, a body suit using robotics and sensor technology inside the garment to mimic human movements and increase strength. The body suit is meant for all ages, but Seismic has found particular success with elderly people who enjoy sports and travel in the United States, where the population is also graying. The number of people age 65 and older in the United States is projected to grow from 52 million in 2018 to 95 million by 2060, according to the Population Reference Bureau. In November, Seismic partnered with Obayashi Corp. to provide its construction workers with the suits.

Is artificial intelligence the future of the biotech industry? Players big and small in the pharma industry are beginning to embrace the idea of artificial intelligence. Some innovators, such as Elon Musk, clearly see the use of AI and machine learning as one of the coming cornerstones of the healthcare industry. Earlier this year Musk, the visionary behind companies such as SpaceX and Tesla, launched the biotech company Neuralink, which has the lofty goal of linking the human brain with a computer. Musk has an idea of implanting computers into a human brain as a way to merge man-made software with the power of the brain in order to improve memory or as a way to interface with computers.

With modern medicine and public health measures extending the average person's life expectancy, a growing population is coming face to face with the challenges of age – including cognitive decline. Addressing the needs of people dealing with cognitive change is no simple task. And today's healthcare workers are hungry for objective, meaningful data to help determine how to best treat their patients. Ruth Poliakine is hoping that her 5-person analytics company, MyndYou, can help harvest that purposeful data. The company, which launched in the middle of 2016, announced this week that it is partnering with Mass.