Over eight years ago, shortly after founding GeckoSystems, we did quite a bit of primary market research.   An important part of that research revealed that many families need a "family servant" to assist primary caregivers in taking care of family, whether young or old.   Initially, this need for a family servant was an abstraction to me since I had no experience in this area.   After much reflection and a little experience, I believe that this need has not been addressed to the satisfaction of many if not most working parents and adult children.   We have more market segment information available for download here.

About five years ago my wife and I moved from Texas to Georgia so that her then 84 year old mother could live with us.   She will be 90 this next April.   While she may not have Alzhiemer's Disease, her short term memory is only 3 to 5 minutes long.   She will ask the same question, such as "is anyone coming over today?" or "do I have to shower?" anywhere from ten to fifteen times a day.   As many of you know, this repetitive questioning can be very stressful at times to the caregiver.

Regardless of whether my mother-in-law has Alzheimers, or "senile dementia," her primary caregiver, my wife, wants a CareBot for its ability to provide verbal reminders, at predetermined intervals day in and day out.   She wants to be able to program in reminders so that she does not always have to be physically present for them to be delivered in a timely fashion.   Of course, if the care receiver no longer routinely recognizes family, friends, or their surroundings then their form of senile dementia may be sufficiently advanced that they need full time professional care.

With the CareBot's ability to follow Grandma around, automatically, without human intervention or guidance, coupled with GeckoChat's customization capability as a surrogate short term memory, we have a new, family-centric way for families to take better, more timely and efficient care of family members and other loved ones.   For instance, the caregiver gets asked the same question ten or twelve times in a span of say thirty minutes.   Eventually, the caregiver will unintentionally grimace or their voice will unconsciously become stressed.   This is perceived by the care receiver and the negative reaction is internalized.   This very human response shames the care receiver and diminishes the dignity and honor they deserve in their twilight years.   On the other hand, the CareBot does not tire of answering repetitive questions and the response is never tinged with stress or frustration.

Here's some examples:

Medication reminders for the appropriate medication at a particular time, determined and programmed in by the caregiver, is an important and fundamental benefit.   Not only is Grandma told when to take her medicine, GeckoChat can ask her if she took the medicine.   If she does not respond appropriately, then a pre-designated caregiver can be contacted and told that Grandma is being reluctant.   Since the caregiver can "video conference" in and see, hear and talk with Grandma, her reluctance to take her medication can be addressed in a timely manner.

But now let's remind Grandma of things she forgets to do.   Let's ask her if she wants to see her favorite sport team play today at 3 pm on Channel 3.   If she says yes, then GeckoChat can set a reminder to tell her at 2:55 pm to turn on the TV to Channel 3 so she can watch the game or any other TV show she likes to watch.

GeckoChat can be programmed to tell Grandma (or other care receivers) her favorite jokes, Bible verses, and "Reader's Digest" anecdotes.   The voice can be tuned for cadence, inflection, tonality, and breathiness so that Grandma has no trouble understanding what the CareBot says.

Perhaps one of the greatest tragedies I have witnessed with my mother-in-law is when her beloved grandchildren come to visit her, and an hour later she has forgotten all about that pleasant and very satisfying experience.   I am genuinely looking forward to her hearing about the great visit she had with her grandkids every hour or so (depending on how often one sets the "recurring reminders") for that boost to her spirits that comes from her family visiting.   And then there is anticipation of coming visits from family that can be put into recurring reminder format in GeckoChat.   With the Holidays coming up, it would be great to have an automatic caregiving system that would let her know that her family loves her, cares for her, and is coming to visit her soon.

My wife and I care daily for her mother who lives in a world that is only a few minutes old.   If our CareBots can keep elderly loved ones out of assisted care and/or nursing homes for only a few months, then they have paid for themselves and, most importantly, put off the emotional trauma to the family when Grandma must finally go into a full time, professional healthcare environment.

As you can see, when the company was founded, our CareBots in family care was an abstraction to me.   Now, after five years of assisting my wife in the care of her mother, it is not.

Thank you for the opportunity to share this with you.

Cordially,
Martin Spencer

Founder
GeckoSystems, Inc.