“Is Dad Okay?”

This was the question I asked myself the minute I drove away from the nursing home where he lived. My dad had dementia and it was at a stage where he needed continuous help just to get through his day.

When I called to check in on his well-being, the answers I got from nurses and caregivers were typically short and unsatisfactory as they were all very busy. The next time I would visit I would ask him how he felt, but his condition made it impossible to tell how he really was. Had he slept? Had he fallen? Was he lonely? Was he worried about being a burden on his family and chose not to share his struggle?

At the end of the day, my siblings and I were all left asking the same question: “Is dad okay?” If you have an elderly parent in your life, you might be able to relate.

 

Skiin: Close to What Matters Most

It was this question that inspired me to embark on a mission ten years ago to develop a better way for people like me to stay connected and care for their loved ones who were separated by distance or physical/cognitive ability.

Skiin is the culmination of that journey and the answer to that question.

Left: A pair of Skiin underwear. Middle: A woman in her 30s embraces her mother. Right: A hand holding a smartphone with the Skiin Connected Life app.

We have developed a way to knit sensors into textiles, creating everyday clothing that your loved ones can wear so that you can check-up on their health & well-being at any time and from anywhere. By simply changing the clothes that they wear, your loved ones can feel cared for in a way that was previously only possible when everyone lived in the same physical space.

This technology has been in development for the last decade and is currently undergoing clinical trials as part of our goal of being classified as a Class II medical device. Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing more information about the types of things we can measure through our clothing, the machine learning on the Myant Platform that helps keep an eye on your loved one’s well-being, and the Skiin Connected Life app that enables you to check-in whenever you have that hunch that something isn’t quite right.

 

Phase 1 of the Skiin Early Access Program

Today we are excited to announce the launch date of Phase 1 of the Skiin Early Access Program: October 1, 2020.

The Skiin Early Access Program will enable you to be among the first to experience this new form of peace of mind. Feedback from participants in the EAP will be used by the Skiin team to fine-tune our product and services.

For Phase 1, we will be selecting 100 people from the waitlist to be the first to try Skiin. A broader group of people will be invited as part of Phase 2 of the Early Access Program, launching tentatively on November 1, 2020. To sign-up for our waitlist, head on over to www.skiin.com, and click the "Get On The Waitlist" button. 

Image of Skiin website with an arrow pointing to the link to sign-up for the waitlist

Look out for our announcements over the next few weeks that will provide more detail about the EAP, its benefits, and how to get started.

 

The Journey

This is a very special moment for everyone who has worked on Skiin over the years.

It has been an incredible roller-coaster of ups and downs in the last decade, times when we felt like we were close but hit a technical roadblock and times where it felt impossible only for a solution to emerge and save the day. Through all that we persevered, each drawing on our own personal reasons for committing to the mission. For me the inspiration is the memory of my dad, whom I wish were still with us to experience this new type of connectedness with his family.

CEO Tony Chahine smiles and holds up a picture of his younger self standing with his father.

All our sacrifices will be worth it if we can meaningfully help you answer this one question:

“Is dad okay?”

 

With humility and hope,

Tony Chahine

Founder & CEO
Myant, Inc. & Skiin

Written by Hannah Fung

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