ExaWizards, an AI-Enabled Service Developer, and YAMASHITA in the Welfare Equipment Business, Have Established a Joint Venture
—Using AI for Home Care and Collaborating in the Practice of Scientific Nursing Care

ExaWizards Inc., a company that develops AI-enabled services to solve social issues (Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & President: Ko Ishiyama; hereafter, “ExaWizards”), and YAMASHITA, LTD. (Shimada-shi, Shizuoka; President: Kazuhiro Yamashita; hereafter, “YAMASHITA”), a company that supports excellent home care through rental and sales of welfare equipment, have established a joint venture, “ExaHomeCare Inc.” (Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & President: Ko Ishiyama, hereafter, “ExaHomeCare”), on Monday, March 31, 2021.

☑︎ Offering services that combine AI-based gait analysis with welfare equipment, supporting home care based on analysis of data of tens of thousands of people
In Japan, which is facing a number of issues including rising social security costs and a shortage of care workers, it is becoming increasingly important to use data in the field of nursing care. For example, the full-scale operation of “LIFE”, a new database for nursing care insurance, has been started in order to provide support for independent living and prevent serious conditions, and its effectiveness has been scientifically proved.

With the mission of “Solving social issues through Artificial Intelligence for future generations”, ExaWizards is engaged in the development and implementation of AI-enabled services in a variety of fields such as nursing care, medical care, HR, robots, finance, and cameras.

Meanwhile, YAMASHITA has been an industry leader for many years as a pioneer in the rental and sale of welfare equipment, and is currently providing services to approximately 100,000 people who require nursing care at home.

By combining the AI technologies of ExaWizards with the expertise in welfare equipment and the service network of YAMASHITA, ExaHomeCare will visualize the condition of each elderly care receiver and provide appropriate home care services, focusing on the practice of scientific nursing care, for which society has high expectations for the future.

Initially, we will deliver suitable mobility aids to people who need them to reduce the risk of falling by using an application that objectively shows gait improvement by mobility aids. The prevention of falling is a critical issue in Japan, as elderly people living at home often experience falls, while among those in need of long-term care and aged 65 or above, 12.5% need care due to falls or fractures^*1.

Specifically, YAMASHITA will use “CareCoaching”^*2, an AI-based gait analysis application developed by ExaWizards, when making suggestions for welfare equipment. While analyzing the data, ExaHomeCare will promote the introduction of CareCoaching to welfare equipment rental service providers other than YAMASHITA and care service providers including day-care facilities. In the first year alone, the gait analysis data of tens of thousands of people is expected to be gathered.

ExaHomeCare will engage in the development and sales of nursing care and welfare related services while promoting collaboration in services with manufacturers of rehabilitation equipment and API integration for the gait analysis AI. We will also analyze various data related to nursing care and welfare services so that we can provide services to assist professionals involved in maintaining and improving ADL^*3, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, home-visit rehabilitation providers and osteopathic clinics, to realize a society where elderly people can lead fuller lives at home.

*1 Source: “Annual Report on the Ageing Society: 2018”, Cabinet Office at https://www8.cao.go.jp/kourei/whitepaper/w-2018/html/zenbun/s1_2_2.html

*2 “CareCoaching” is an AI-based gait analysis application which was developed in response to opinions from the nursing care field that they want to understand the gait condition of elderly people scientifically. By using a smartphone to shoot a video of a person walking 5 meters and uploading it, the AI will reply with analysis results on an easy-to-read communication sheet in just two minutes. By extracting the skeletal structure of the target person, the gait condition is analyzed based on the four indices of “speed” and “rhythm”, which indicate walking ability, and “staggering” and “bilateral difference”, which indicate walking balance. The analysis result screen provides information that is useful for both caregivers and an elderly care receiver, including the gait condition that is visualized with scores, as well as how the person walks, the level of falling risk, and recommended exercises to improve the person’s condition. The analysis result (communication sheet) can be easily shared with care managers and family members. Visit https://carecoaching.jp/ for more information.

*3 ADL is an abbreviation of Activities of Daily Living. Common ADLs include personal care activities, such as waking up and going to bed at a certain time, dressing, grooming, eating, continence management and bathing, transfer activities including transferring (walking) indoors or when going out, housework activities such as cooking, laundry and cleaning, and other daily life activities such as use of transportation.

☑︎ Messages from the Presidents

Kazuhiro Yamashita, President, YAMASHITA, Ltd.
“It is clear that demand for evidence-based scientific nursing care will increase in the future. That is why I believe that collaborating with an AI company which can enhance our expertise and customer satisfaction that we have accumulated over 30 years by using technology can enrich the world of nursing care. In collaboration with ExaWizards, we will create new values in care services in the rehabilitation field by adding value in the selection and proposal of welfare equipment, contributing to physical and mental wellbeing and enriching the lives of people working in nursing care.”

Ko Ishiyama, Representative Director & President, ExaWizards Inc.
“I believe that in order to solve social issues with nursing care and AI, it is essential to develop services by combining techniques and expertise of players in the nursing care industry and technology companies. Through this partnership with YAMASHITA, we will promote utilization of technologies in the home care industry to realize a society where elderly people can lead fuller lives at home.”

[Corporate profile of ExaHomeCare Inc.]
Company name: ExaHomeCare Inc.
Headquarter: 21F Shiodome Sumitomo Bldg., Higashi Shimbashi 1-9-2, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Founded in: May 31, 2021
Executive Officers: Ko Ishiyama, Representative Director & President
Satoshi Ishino, Director
Yukihiko Yamashita, Director
Kenichi Kato, Auditor
Description of business: Development and sales of AI-enabled services related to care/welfare equipment
Shareholding ratio: 51% by ExaWizards and 49% by YAMASHITA

[Corporate profile of ExaWizards Inc.]
Company name: ExaWizards Inc.
Headquarter: 21F Shiodome Sumitomo Bldg., Higashi Shimbashi 1-9-2, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Founded in: February 8, 2016
Representative: Ko Ishiyama, Representative Director & President
Description of business: Industrial innovation and resolution of social issues through development of AI-enabled services
URL: https://exawizards.com/

[Corporate Profile of YAMASHITA, Ltd.]
Company name: YAMASHITA, Ltd.
Headquarter: Nakagawa 737, Shimada-shi, Shizuoka
Founded in: March 6, 1963
Representative: Kazuhiro Yamashita, President
Description of business: Rental and sales of care equipment, home care support services, linen supply services
URL: https://www.yco.co.jp/

<Inquiries about this release>
Public Relations Department, ExaWizards Inc. E-mail: publicrelations@exwzd.com
Public Relations Department, YAMASHITA, Ltd. E-mail: koho@yco.co.jp