sovaSage's Jeanie grants ‘strategic advantage’ 

PITTSBURGH – sovaSage is in a “huge growth cycle,” with a new product for patients on CPAP therapy called TherapistAssist Jeanie and a number of key hires, says William Kaigler, co-founder. 

The company had a soft launch for Jeanie, an artificial intelligence-based virtual coach that delivers customized written and video-based content to patients 24/7/365, at Medtrade in March. 

“There’s nothing else like it,” said Kaigler, who previously founded medSage and who lead the mask product development for Respironics before it sold to Philips. “It allows the patient to passively or proactively manage their care with information delivered to their smart phone at all times. It has content specific to their mask and their CPAP equipment and it’s tailored to their insurance policies. It’s also supplemented by a sleep coach team.” 

Jeanie is the next phase of sovaSage’s offerings. The company launched its first product, TherapistAssist Smart Fit, an AI-based mask fitting tool that is now integrated with Jeanie, in 2020. 

sovaSage has hired a number of former Philips employees who specialize in compliance management, as well as Caryn Plessinger, formerly of Hub’s Home Oxygen & Medical Supplies, as vice president of clinical services, to serve as the backbone of Jeanie. 

“They’re there to supplement Jeanie,” Kaigler said. “A coach gets involved when a patient asks for help or the data indicates they’re not solving the problem just with Jeanie. They’re pinged, for example, if a patient is having a problem with their mask and they need someone to talk them through it.” 

sovaSage offers (to end users? Providers?) Jeanie for an initial fee for three months, which includes TherapistAssist Smart Fit, and then at a different price-point for long-term compliance, Kaigler says. 

“In the sleep space, so many are focused on resupply replenishment and what they don’t realize is there’s no replenishment if patients aren’t compliant,” he said. “Providers who use our tools are at a strategic advantage.”