# A State-of-the-Art Automatic Speech Recognition and Conversational Platform to Enable Socially Assistive Robots for Persons with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias

> **NIH NIH SB1** · CARE.COACH CORPORATION · 2024 · $1,290,636

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
This commercialization readiness pilot (CRP) by care.coach corporation (Millbrae, CA) requests funds for late-
stage research and development and technical assistance for a conversational technology driven by artificial
intelligence (AI) that was developed with and for older adults, especially those aging with Alzheimer’s disease
and related dementias (ADRD). Past work has resulted in a socially assistive robot (SAR) and virtual health
assistant overseen by humans that improves health outcomes and reduces loneliness in older adults at a lower
cost of care. Customer loyalty is world-class and far exceeds net promotor scores (NPS) for well-known
conversational agents, attesting to the product’s commercial potential. Moreover, active Phase II funding
(5R44AG0620-14-03) has resulted in an automated speech recognition (ASR) engine that is more accurate in
understanding truly natural speech by older adults, including those with ADRD, than major conversional AI
platforms. This is significant given the inherent challenges that the speech of older adults, especially of those
with ADRD, poses to conversational AI due to normal age-related neurological changes or brain pathology
associated with ADRD.
Leveraging these advances and innovations, care.coach is preparing for rapid growth and has attracted
considerable interest from insurers, corporate development arms of large insurers, and traditional investors.
To successfully scale, we propose to re-platform our current system on top of an enterprise-grade, integrated
knowledge solution enabled by KIE, an opensource platform powered by KIE’s Drools/jBPM rules and process
engines. The KIE platform has revolutionized enterprise operations, and has been adopted in healthcare to
drive quality and efficiency with applications ranging from the adjudication of health insurance claims to the
implementation of clinical decision support systems. In addition to business process automation, the cost of
goods sold (COGS) will come down with full conversational automation in allowable use cases by training and
using a large language model. Both capabilities will be developed in the proposed CRP using state-of-the-art
technical approaches, and will be evaluated for performance and acceptance in a replication study with ADRD
patients in partnership with a health plan and medical providers that serve a large, diverse elderly population.
This technical assistance and late-stage development will deliver a state-of-the-art, consumer-facing conversa-
tional agent and virtual health assistant driven by a technology platform with industrial production and automa-
tion methods that ensure consistent and scalable digital health service delivery and manufacturing, and that
meet the highest security and consumer satisfaction standards. The overall goal is to improve the health and
wellbeing of millions Americans within 5 years, including those aging with ADRD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11084815
- **Project number:** 5SB1AG082634-02
- **Recipient organization:** CARE.COACH CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Chantal M Kerssens
- **Activity code:** SB1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,290,636
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-05-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11084815

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11084815, A State-of-the-Art Automatic Speech Recognition and Conversational Platform to Enable Socially Assistive Robots for Persons with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (5SB1AG082634-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11084815. Licensed CC0.

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