WalkWise

WalkWise develops an Internet-of-Things remote monitoring system for older adults who use mobility aids. Its core product is a patented smart attachment that zip-ties onto a rollator or standard walker wheel, a wheelchair wheel, or — in a "Mini" version with a velcro strap — a cane or hemi walker. The attachment runs about a year on two AAA batteries, requires no charging, no wearable, no smartphone and no Wi-Fi; it communicates wirelessly with a plug-in "Node" that relays data over cellular networks. Setup is described as taking roughly five minutes per device, and the company publishes a one-month onboarding timeline from kit delivery to a collected dataset, with full use at three months.

Collected walking duration and distance data feed a cloud platform with a web dashboard (app.walkwise.com), a mobile app ("WalkWise for Organizations") and configurable notifications covering declining activity versus baseline, sudden inactivity, increased night-time movement (a "Night Owl score") and walker tip-overs. The platform includes a Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) billing dashboard. The company states that providers use the data not only to reduce falls but to detect urinary tract infections, sundowning, pain, illness and injury earlier, and cites machine-learning analytics in the cloud for infection screening. Documentation covers device setup, battery changes, node configuration, account registration and troubleshooting.

WalkWise targets skilled nursing facilities, senior living communities, PACE programs, therapy groups and value-based care organizations, and also offers a consumer/family channel through a partnership with Drive Medical. Published case studies name PACE Southeast Michigan, Essentia Health Primary Care and Northland PACE.

Founding story

The founder describes the idea arising from personal experience with aging grandparents: one grandmother in assisted living far from family, another whose physical therapists had little visibility into her activity at home, and a third who fell at home while not using her walker. After finding that older relatives would not wear smartwatches or fitness trackers, the founder concluded that tracking the walker itself — a device used constantly by an estimated 3–6 million Americans — could capture the same activity signal. Early data gathered from the founder's grandparents and other early adopters showed uses beyond fitness tracking, including night-time activity monitoring to screen for urinary tract infections, notifications for lack of motion and walker tip-overs, and encouragement of walker compliance.

Business model

WalkWise sells a hardware-plus-software remote monitoring system to senior care organizations, pairing a smart mobility aid attachment and cellular communication node with a dashboard, mobile app and notification service. For provider customers, the platform supports Remote Therapeutic Monitoring billing. A separate consumer channel makes the product available to mobility aid users and their families via a partnership with Drive Medical.

The sources describe a device-and-platform offering sold to healthcare and senior care organizations, with an RTM billing dashboard that supports provider reimbursement for Remote Therapeutic Monitoring, plus direct availability to families through Drive Medical. Specific pricing is not stated.

Traction

As of the July 2023 funding announcement, WalkWise reported use by healthcare organizations in 15 states, including large industry names. The company publishes outcome figures of 43% and 39% reductions in falls and 40% of users having fewer falls, and the founder cites customer-reported fall rate reductions of 30–40%. Case studies cover PACE Southeast Michigan, Essentia Health Primary Care and Northland PACE.

Latest developments

In July 2023 WalkWise closed a $1.2 million round led by gener8tor's 1889 Fund — the fund's first investment — with participation from Groove Capital, Big Stone Capital, 701 Angel Fund, the North Dakota Development Fund and local entrepreneurs, to fund commercialization, sales and marketing expansion, supply chain and technology development. The company has also introduced a Mini device for canes and hemi walkers and a WheelWise configuration for wheelchairs.