Camanio Care
Social and Medical Care Powered by Robotics

When Sten Hemmingsson, a resident of Stockholm, Sweden, was diagnosed with polio at the mere age of 15, his shoulders and arms were severely damaged. It compelled him to depend on others to eat, subsequently affecting his independence and more importantly, his self-esteem. Hemmingsson’s effort of considering assistive options turned futile when they failed to fulfill some of his specific needs. This situation drove him to develop an assistive eating device— Bestic––that brings food up from the plate to the mouth with the click of a button. One of the key offerings in Sweden-based Camanio Care’s portfolio, Bestic is widely used by differently-abled individuals and the elderly.

Camanio Care is a care tech company that works with smart technology to support quality of life for those who need medical or social care at home. The company has developed multiple healthcare products—the BikeAround system, Giraff telepresence robot, Bestic, and the VITAL Smart Care platform—to provide a dignified and meaningful life to the elderly and specially-abled individuals. “All of our solutions are designed to offer physical, mental, and social care at home as it is where the majority of future care will be delivered,” says Catharina Borgenstierna, CEO of Camanio Care, “By utilizing robotics, digital tools, and smart technology we deliver medical and social care with efficiency and high quality to support those who need it.”

The Camanio Care team firmly believes that individuals should have an active social life regardless of their medical conditions. Thus, to keep the patients active, the company developed the BikeAround system that renders an interactive digital experience to users by allowing them to visit the place of their choice. BikeAround is a bike placed in front of a surrounding dome that displays images captured from Google street view in the form of an interactive film. This setup enables patients to virtually visit the places they want while being socially interactive, as the system can also be used in groups. “It is a mix of social and digital environments that help people to come out of their inert state and engage in physical and social activities,” explains Catharina. BikeAround has gained a lot of attention in North America after Google made a movie about the product’s ability tobenefit people suffering from dementia. Since then, the product has been noted in media, and several senior centers have invested in it to stimulate activation.

Camanio Care also works towards bridging the gap between the demand and supply of medical staff in healthcare with its new product, Giraff. It is a telepresence robot that promotes remote medical care, by allowing medical staff, relatives, and family members to visit the patients virtually to track their health. “With Giraff the patients can receive the requisite medical attention without visiting the hospital. It can move around the house independently, and patients can also use it to for making social calls,” says Catharina. Although Giraff is still in the R&D phase, Camanio Care plans to launch it in Europe in the next few months.

Recently, Camanio Care acquired a company to connect its products with a digital integration platform to deliver seamless social and medical care. The company is thereby embedding its products into a cloud-based digital ecosystem to manage the patient data securely. The company’s innovative approach to incorporate robotics into healthcare has earned a great recognition along with the Rising Star Award from the Queen of Sweden. Camanio Care is already working with many distributors and universities in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America, and this honor further encourages them to expand internationally. In the long run, the company aims to introduce new technologies such as AI into its products and develop the BikeAround system, especially in North America.