As voice recognition technology (VRT) becomes a part of everyday life, healthcare companies have a new role to play. This week, Merck announced a new program with Amazon to explore how voice activated digital tools can support people with chronic disease. To get started, Merck will focus on diabetes, which currently impacts 415 million people around the world. As part of the program, we’re powering an open innovation challenge: Can you create Amazon voice-enabled solutions to improve life for those with type 2 diabetes?

Over the next 4 years, Amazon will sell an estimated 113 million Amazon Echo devices. It will be up to developers to imagine and build clever ways to use it. Uses will soon go far beyond turning on lights or calling an Uber, and will venture deeper into healthcare, helping people better manage treatments and communicate with caregivers. From reminding people of their nutrition plans to scheduling their insulin dosages, the Merck-sponsored Alexa Diabetes Challenge will call on developers to push the boundaries of voice technology for people with diabetes.  

The Alexa Diabetes Challenge is accepting submissions until 5:00 PM ET on Monday, May 22, 2017, and will award a total of $250,000 throughout the duration of the Challenge. It received coverage in FiercePharma, MobiHealth News, Geek Wire, MedCityNews and other media and is featured on Amazon Web Services Partner Network Blog.  

To learn more about the Challenge, submit a solution, or sign up for the newsletter, please visit our Challenge website.If you’d like to chat about this program, email us at hello@alexadiabeteschallenge.com.

Image source: Flickr user Pierre Lecourt