Hacking Medicine with ACCESS Health Singapore

Channel News Asia’s morning program First Look Asia featured ACCESS Health Singapore Country Manager Adrienne Mendenhall talking about technology and robotics as a solution to some of the challenges of an aging population. The interview aired in the leadup to Asia’s first hackathon to explore robotic solutions for elder care, Hacking Medicine Robotics Singapore. The Hacking Medicine event is taking place today, in partnership with SGInnovate and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology.

Adrienne was joined by the founder of the CareGiver app, Calvin Cheng. Together they discussed the challenges inherent with aging populations like Singapore. An increasing number of elderly citizens places increasing pressure on healthcare resources and infrastructure. It also becomes ever more critical to ensure that elderly individuals are fit and healthy, in order to help them guard against chronic illnesses such as cancer, respiratory disease, heart disease, and musculoskeletal diseases like arthritis and osteoporosis.

The interview highlighted opportunities for incorporating technology into elder care, specifically robotic technologies. For example, providing around the clock healthcare and environmental monitoring while also providing companionship to otherwise isolated individuals. If properly conceived and utilized, incorporating robotic technology into elder care can reduce

Panelists at the Facebook Live Hacking Medicine Event in Singapore.

healthcare costs and lead to a more efficient use of limited resources.

Hacking Medicine Robotics Singapore kicked off with a Facebook LIVE panel, hosted on the SGInnovate Facebook page. Adrienne spoke alongside the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Professor at NUS Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Marcelo Ang, Ninebot’s Sarah Zhang, and one of the winners of the first Hacking Medicine Singapore hackathon, Julian Koo.