VIC-based health technology company Gabriel Health is trialling a new program with the help of the Victorian Government that will see over 30,000 people be given access to new technology to combat the growing problem of social isolation.

The pilot is set to take place in the Melbourne metropolitan and regional areas and will start to roll out in August 2017.

Gabriel founder Terry Crews says the program is designed to not only enable older people to stay independent at home for longer, but also stick to their normal routines to help prevent loneliness.

“We’ve looked at research across the globe and found that social isolation speeds up life threatening diseases like dementia, Alzheimer’s, depression, suicide, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, frailty, ageing and many more,” he said.

“There has been widespread acknowledgement for many years of the adverse effects of social isolation, but until now there has not been an effective intervention,” he added.

"Our technology provides a simple means to create the family connection and in a non-invasive way detect any changes to health and wellbeing.”

Participants will have a custom-developed Unity tablet connected to the Gabriel communications platform. A click on a large photo of family member instantly creates a video link to the family member and vice versa.

Video software, motion detectors, voice recognition and artificial intelligence will also be used to monitor residents and give family members peace of mind.

Picture: Gabriel Health CEO Terry Crews