After 40 Years of Failure, Emergency Response Systems Are Finally Getting Smart
Sense™ by Nasoni transforms the bathroom into a predictive health hub, monitoring falls risk, medication adherence, and cognitive decline without cameras or wearables—preserving both safety and dignity.
This is what reactive technology waits for. Sense™ by Nasoni is being developed to prevent bathroom falls by monitoring the behavioral changes that signal emerging risk—before an emergency happens.
NIH-backed Sense™ by Nasoni introduces PERS Pro™ — predictive, preventive technology that stops falls and functional decline before emergencies happen.
We rely on caregiver memory to gauge weeks of behavior. This isn't precision medicine — it's retrospective guesswork. Tools like the HHI™ could fundamentally change how and when we diagnose.”
NORFOLK, VA, UNITED STATES, October 3, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- For four decades, Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) have had a fatal flaw: they only work after someone is already hurt. Despite billions spent and decades of marketing, adoption rates remain abysmal: only 10–40% of at-risk seniors ever used them. Why? Because pendants are stigmatizing, compliance is low, and alerts come too late.— Hamid R. Okhravi, M.D., Director of the Comprehensive Memory Center at EVMS
Today, Nasoni announced Sense™ by Nasoni — the first PERS Pro™ (Predictive Emergency Readiness System) that predicts and prevents falls, medication errors, and cognitive decline before emergencies happen.
Backed by more than $5 million from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Sense™ represents the next evolution of caregiving technology: ambient, invisible, and predictive.
The 60% Problem: Why Traditional PERS Failed
• Stigma: Pendants scream “I’m old and frail.”
• Compliance: Must be worn, charged, and remembered.
• Too Late: Alerts only after an injury has already occurred.
“Sense™ by Nasoni was built to end the 40-year cycle of failure in emergency response systems. We’re not just improving PERS — we’re making it obsolete,” said Steve Waddell, CEO of Nasoni and Principal Investigator on the NIA grants.
From Reactive to Predictive: Four Generations of PERS
First Generation: Call Buttons (LifeAlert®)
These devices required users to press a button after a fall occurred. Adoption was limited to 10–15% of at-risk seniors due to stigma and poor usability.
Second Generation: GPS Pendants (MobileHelp®, Lively®)
Pendants added mobility and location tracking but still required users to wear and charge them daily. Adoption rose to 20–30%, but compliance challenges remained.
Third Generation: Wearables (Apple Watch®, Fitbit)
Smartwatches introduced fall detection and health alerts, but adoption among older adults remained low (15–25%). The limitations were twofold: users had to remember to wear and interact with the devices consistently, and they also had to charge them every 1–2 days, which created frequent lapses in coverage.
Fourth Generation: PERS Pro™ (Sense™ by Nasoni)
The breakthrough: predictive and passive technology that requires no user compliance. By embedding invisible health intelligence into daily bathroom routines, Sense™ targets 70%+ adoption—finally solving the compliance problem that plagued previous generations.
How Sense™ Works: The Healthy Habits Index™
Unlike wearables, Sense™ operates invisibly in the background — placed unobtrusively in living spaces such as bathrooms or bedrooms, continuously gathering predictive health signals without requiring user action. Its proprietary Healthy Habits Index™ (HHI) passively tracks:
• Gait patterns → early fall risk
• Speech and cognitive changes → ADL drift detection
• Hydration and hygiene → functional decline markers
• Daily routines → early warning of behavioral disruption
When patterns shift, Sense™ alerts caregivers days or weeks before a crisis — enabling early intervention that prevents hospitalizations.
“Clinical Dementia Rating is rudimentary. We rely on caregiver memory to gauge weeks of behavior. This isn’t precision medicine — it’s retrospective guesswork,” said Hamid R. Okhravi, M.D., Director of the Comprehensive Memory Center at Eastern Virginia Medical School. “Tools like the Healthy Habits Index™ could fundamentally change how and when we diagnose cognitive decline.”
The $50 Billion Problem
• Falls cost the U.S. healthcare system $50B annually.
• Dementia adds billions more in direct and caregiver costs.
• Current systems pay for ER visits, not prevention.
Why Now?
• Demographics: 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day, accelerating demand for aging-in-place solutions.
• Policy Shift: Medicare is moving toward value-based care and prevention reimbursement.
• Technology Maturity: Advances in AI, mmWave radar, and IoT make passive, predictive systems possible for the first time.
Clinical Validation Underway
Sense™ is being validated through NIA-funded clinical trials with Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), Glennan Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology. EVMS is a nationally recognized leader in dementia care and aging-in-place innovation. Studies are designed to:
• Validate HHI against CDR, MoCA, and ADL scales
• Demonstrate Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) reimbursement eligibility
• Prove predictive algorithms can detect decline 2–4 weeks before clinical observation
First results expected Q4 2025.
Market Transformation
From PERS to PERS Pro™ - By redefining the category, Nasoni projects:
• 1 million lives empowered by 2035
• $2B+ market opportunity in aging-in-place technology
• $500M+ revenue potential via Medicare RTM reimbursement
Call for Partners - Nasoni is seeking:
• Home health agencies for pilot deployments
• Healthcare systems for validation partnerships
• Strategic investors for commercial scale-up
About Nasoni
Nasoni develops PERS Pro™ (Predictive Emergency Readiness Systems) — predictive health intelligence that enables aging in place with dignity. Supported by $5M+ in NIH funding and clinical partnerships, Nasoni is creating the future of proactive senior care. To learn more about Nasoni, visit www.nasoni.com.
Media Contact: Need to speak with one of our experts for an upcoming article? Contact the Nasoni PR Team - we'd be happy to coordinate an interview with you - pr@nasoni.com
SUPPORT AND FUNDING
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 5R44AG087731-02. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
Glennan Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology
Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences EVMS at Old Dominion University
https://www.evms.edu
Steve Waddell
Nasoni
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