Meet the industry partner: Helene Blanchard

Helene Blanchard is the catalyst behind the idea for My Medic Watch, a digital health company offering smart-detection apps for automatic fall and seizure alerts.

This involves remote monitoring using machine learning and artificial intelligence to enhance prevention, personalised care, and, ultimately, increase user independence, quality of life, and peace of mind.

Tell me about your work at My Medic Watch. How did you get involved in this area, and why?

My Medic Watch’s story and my own are very closely intertwined. Several years ago, I used to work in technology, waking up at 5am, going for a swim, working, and staying active with my family and friends. However, in 2013, when I suddenly started experiencing random falls, medical tests revealed that I had severe autoimmune neuropathy, which explained the increased risk of falls.

Helene Blanchard. Image: Supplied

At that time, my adult daughters were balancing their studies and work, and we were all constantly worried that I might fall when they weren’t around. We soon began to wonder: what if there was a way to automatically alert my family if I had a fall, especially if I was unconscious or unable to make the call myself? What if they could know I needed help, even in those critical moments? With the arrival of smartwatches equipped with specific sensors during those same years, we started doing more research. We quickly realised that no smartwatch apps existed with the capabilities we were looking for. We also discovered that commercial devices like the Apple, Samsung, and other smartwatches could read vital signs and interpret them using algorithms.

That’s when My Medic Watch began to take shape. We consulted with medical advisors, data scientists, and engineers. The team was enthusiastic about the concept, recognising its potential to mitigate serious risks. That’s how My Medic Watch came to be—a proactive health monitoring solution born from a personal need and a desire to provide peace of mind to families like ours.

My Medic Watch is very much focussed on the scientific approach with clinical studies, validation study, scientific publication and patent granted and other pending. Many years after the development of My Medic Watch, Apple Watch and the like, can still only detect one type of fall: hard falls; and not in the sensitive, personalised way that we can—with customisable parameters that capture the full range of falls.

In the last 4 years the team’s focus has been more on the predictive aspects of falls and other events. We’ve been researching with AI/ML since the beginning and our algorithm and apps are able with some specific models to detect a fall before it is happening and “flag” it to the user. Next steps are to improve these prediction models and continue validation studies as our product develops and evolves. It is also a priority for us to reach out to our customers for feedback as well and to adapt our roadmap accordingly.

What’s been your most rewarding achievement or moment in your career?

I would say that the collective efforts of the My Medic Watch team, and the impact they had on improving people’s well-being. Knowing that this work contributes directly to peace of mind for both individuals and their families is incredibly fulfilling. We want to help to keep people at home for the longest possible time, and even after an hospital stay allow them to be able to be monitored and feel peace of mind.

The awards My Medic Watch has received over the years are a reflection of the dedication of the team and the real difference they are making in people’s lives. It’s not just about the recognition; it’s about knowing that we are helping those who need it, especially in critical moments.

Knowing that My Medic Watch will soon introduce additional features, such as fall prediction, is incredibly rewarding. These advancements, along with the continuous monitoring capabilities, will empower individuals by providing them with valuable health data in real time. All the user events and other valuable information are available in our portal or can be securely integrated within any healthcare system. This will allow people to make informed decisions about their well-being while also enabling clinicians to offer more personalised and proactive care.

The ability for individuals to have control of their own health data and share it with their healthcare providers ensures a collaborative approach to improving and maintaining their overall health. Our roadmap is focused on people’s wellbeing and supporting their loved ones.

What more are you hoping to achieve in your career?

My Medic Watch’s solution is already available in 55 countries, and now that it has been well-adopted, we are focusing on scaling in the B2B and B2G sectors across different countries. My Medic Watch has established key partnerships, including one in the UK, and we see significant potential with health insurers, home care providers, and healthcare systems globally.

Looking forward, we aim to continue growing these partnerships while staying true to our vision: to empower users with the best alert and prevention mechanisms that technology can offer. By doing so, we aim to increase user independence, enhance quality of life, and provide peace of mind for individuals and their families.

Another critical aspect of My Medic Watch future goals is promoting equity in healthcare access. We believe that individuals from all economic backgrounds should have access to our solutions, supported by reimbursement pathways through health insurance, or universal healthcare systems like Medicare. This is already happening in countries like France and Germany, and we are optimistic that Australia will follow. This would allow broader access to our technology, ensuring that the benefits are available to more people and those who need them most.

Ultimately, it’s a win-win for everyone—not just for the users and their families, but also for the healthcare ecosystem. By offering proactive health monitoring solutions, we can help reduce healthcare costs for providers while improving overall outcomes for patients. Our goal is to create a more efficient, sustainable, and inclusive healthcare system that benefits all stakeholders.

Why is what you do important?

What My Medic Watch does is crucial because it addresses a very real and significant yet often overlooked need: the safety and well-being of vulnerable individuals, particularly when they are alone. Our solution provides a patented, scientifically validated automatic detection system for falls and seizure-like movements, empowering individuals and their families with the confidence that help will be available during critical moments, even when the person is unable to request assistance themselves. Our solution is personalised and scientifically tested as opposed to just a lifestyle device.

Our ongoing research, in collaboration with like-minded organisations, research institutes, and governmental agencies, is aimed at finding even more innovative ways to support those in need, not just in their home but as well when they are out and about. We believe that being monitored with a smartwatch avoids any stigma attached to more obvious monitoring methods like pendants. My Medic Watch is committed to broadening its impact, ensuring that more people can access these life-changing solutions.

Ultimately, it’s about preventing potential tragedies, alleviating stress for families, and significantly improving the quality of life for people at risk. The peace of mind My Medic Watch offers is invaluable, both to the individuals themselves and their loved ones, making a lasting difference in their daily lives.

Helene will showcase the My Medic Watch technology at the NSSN's 3rd Ageing Forum on 22 November.