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The smart drinking cup
Not drinking enough fluids can have negative consequences for your body and mind. This can be particularly dangerous for elderly people. With the help of artificial intelligence, the LAQA SmartCup takes over "hydration management" – and could thus prevent huge health costs.
by Tobias Imbach
Did you drink enough water today? You're welcome – reminders to drink enough fluids can be useful.
Thus, the LAQA SmartCup reminds people to drink enough to save them from dehydration. This is especially important for elderly people.
The smart drinking cup is based on artificial intelligence in data processing. Bernd Hoffmann, Founder and CEO of LAQA, talks in the podcast about how the device simplifies the lives of care workers and senior citizens and how the whole of society benefits from it.
SAID & NOTED
The older we get, the less body fluid we have, which reduces our sense of thirst.
Older people do not have the opportunity to compensate for dehydration as easily as younger people.
In 2018, there were one million cases of dehydration (as a main or secondary diagnosis) in hospital admissions in Germany. 90 per cent of patients were aged 65 or older – 5000 even died from it.
With LAQA, we could significantly extend the self-determined phase of life for older people.
We assume that 35 milliliters of fluid should be consumed per kilo of body weight.
The SmartCup reminds people to drink via light, sound or vibration.
We make the data available to the caregivers – they can then take action if patients drink too little (or too much).
The drinking recommendation is tailored to the individual person and their characteristics.
We could provide anonymised data for studies – through automation and digitalisation, we obtain data that was previously only possible through elaborate observations.
Dehydration is also a latent problem in younger cohorts. A potential market for the LAQA SmartCup would be, for example, occupational health management – after all, hydration is crucial for concentration and fatigue symptoms.
AI in the health sector
How to use AI responsibly – find out in our Tech Talk Audio.
How Alphafold helps to find new drugs – read the article.
Listen to this podcast on another platform:
Bernd Hoffmann
LAQA, Munich
Bernd Hoffmann is the founder and managing director of LAQA GmbH. He completed his education in business administration at the Stuttgart University of Cooperative Education and gained extensive experience in the insurance industry, including in the field of health insurance. With LAQA SmartCup, he and his team are providing an AI-based hydration management tool for care and healthcare facilities.
