The Hamilton Village Care Centre will be the first long-term care facility within Vancouver Coast Health to implement the Sleepsense alarm onto residents’ beds.
Tochtech’s Sleepsense will send notifications to healthcare workers whenever a resident gets out of bed, has not returned to bed or has a medical emergency while in bed. Sleepsense bed exit alerts are sent to smartphones or other integrated nurse call systems used by Hamilton Village Care Centre. Additionally, the sensor will collect sleep quality data, such as heart and breathing rate, allowing caregivers to adjust care plans or intervene and avert potential medical emergencies.
Jessica Yang, CEO of Tochtech Technologies, said that the aging population needs quality sleep to recharge their physical and mental health for the next day.
“Sleep can tell a lot,” Yang said, “having the report can help the caregivers plan accordingly and help the resident to settle down.”
The sensors are placed under the bed frame, so will feel less invasive to the residents’ privacy. Yet, it can detect a wide range of body movements and vital signs without disrupting sleep, regardless of where the sleeper is positioned.
“You can drop sesame seeds into the bed, and it can sense the vibration and the change of weight,” Yang said.
Melissa Bawtinheimer, general manager of Hamilton Village Care Centre, said that Sleepsense’s pilot phase has yielded much positive feedback, and she is excited to proceed with the installation in early February.
“The ability to analyze the sleep data without the staff standing over the residents to see if they’re asleep, really does give us a leg up in terms of supporting their overall health quality,” Bawtinheimer said.
Before having Sleepsense, the Hamilton Village Care Centre couldn’t accurately evaluate the residents’ sleep quality, making pinpointing the reason behind constant fatigue more tricky.
“They potentially could be at greater risk for fall, or something medically going on that’s new that we weren’t aware of,” Bawtinheimer said, stating that having the sleep data available can make the caregivers more proactive and support the residents’ quality of life.
The Hamilton Village Care Centre will install up to 65 units, covering half of the residence and more when the centre receives additional EquipCare Funding.The centre’s caregivers will be trained to familiarize themselves with the system as it is scheduled to go live in early March.
The residents’ family members will also be able to access the sleep data through Sleepsense’s online portal.
Tochtech’s Sleepsense has won the 2020 AGE-WELL competition and is planning to become more flexible for hospital and private residents.
A November 2022 CBC article
The installation of Sleepsense at Langley Lodge’s 139-bed long term care residence commenced in April and we are proud to report that residents, staff and management are thrilled with how well the system is working. The system has successfully improved quality of care and reduced falls at Langley Lodge. Resident sleep quality data is being used as feedback to adjust care plans and add interventions to address.
As a key partner to Maximus Canada’s seniors@homeprogram, Tochtech has successfully delivered our Vericare, remote ADL monitoring system to the first 50 seniors in the Calgary area to support independent, safer and healthier living. Early results for this significant project are promising with possible plans to further build on this.
As a successful recipient of the OBIO EAHN application that provides $250k funding support, we have been working with Bruyere health organization, AGE-WELL SAM3, Carleton University and All Seniors Care to thoroughly evaluate Sleepsense in both laboratory and real life healthcare settings. The project will provide robust cases and scientific evidence on the benefits of Sleepsense in the areas of staff efficiency and care quality improvements. The preliminary results have been showcased by Dr. Bruce Wallace at the AGE-WELL conference in Regina.
2023 will see us build on our successes of 2022 as we continue to advance our technology to support the unique challenges the senior care industry faces. Finally, Tochech wishes all our clients, partners and supporters, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. Thank you for your support throughout the year!!
Jessica is delighted to be joining an amazing cohort of Canadian women entrepreneurs embarking on the next step in their company’s internationalization journey. “This is a great opportunity to meet and network with some inspiring women entrepreneurs and at the same time showcase our technology to the Japanese market. Tochtech products which focus on seniors and safety, is ideal for the aging Japanese population. I am humbled by this wonderful opportunity, and want to congratulate my fellow delegates” said Yang.
Tochtech is thrilled to be welcomed as a member of LeadingAge, the trusted voice for aging. Our 
Sleepsense is able to provide on our residents’ sleep patterns is so valuable and information we have never previously had. This information helps us better understand some of the health and sleep challenges our residents are experiencing and allows us to be proactive in how we can better serve and care for them. Providing 21st Century care continues to inform our practice and shape our vision. At Broadway Lodge we are committed to our mission of ‘excellence in care’ and we feel Sleepsense can play a role in helping us achieve this”, says Rosemary Dunn, Assistant Executive Director at Broadway Lodge.
