Musical Health Technologies
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Quantitative & Qualitative Outcomes Overview
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Crafted specifically for the senior care industry, SingFit
PRIME is a music therapist designed cognitive and
physical stimulation program that incorporates singing,
movement, trivia and reminiscence for a fully engaging
mind/body workout. SingFit PRIME is powered by
SingFit, a first-of-its-kind iOS mobile app that digitizes
the evidence-based music therapy practice of lyric
cuing. SingFit’s patented Lyric Coach track makes it
possible for practically everyone, including people with
dementia, vision impairments and cognitive delays, to
sing, record (and share!) their favorite songs.
Watch videos of SingFit PRIME in action at SingFit.com
With themed playlists featuring classic hits including “Over the Rainbow” and “Blueberry Hill,”
SingFit PRIME uses beloved tunes to keep residents of senior living communities and recipients of
in-home care active, engaged and singing. Currently administered in
more than 60 senior living communities as both a group and individual
activity, organized studies and staff reports show that implementing a
SingFit PRIME program produces improvements in residents' moods,
anxiety levels, cognition and memory.
Two clinical studies on SingFit technology, one with Tufts University and
one with the Veterans Administration, have received Internal Review
Board approval. We look forward to sharing these results with you in the
coming year.
The Front Porch Center for Technology and Innovation
The Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing is a highly
respected nonprofit that brings together the residents and staff of
senior living communities with research partners and technology
companies. The Front Porch Center undertook an eight week study of
the SingFit PRIME training, technology and protocols at their Claremont
SingFit 2.0 Coming 1.15
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Manor Community in Claremont, California. Private & Confidential
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Musical Health Technologies
Quantitative & Qualitative Outcomes White Paper
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Study Summary From the Front Porch Report: “Over the course of 8 weeks, SingFit PRIME™
sessions were very effective with Memory Care and Assisted Living residents. Using a modified facial
grimace scale to measure the impact of SingFit, we found that moods improved, memories were
revived, and residents were more socially open with the people around them…the staff noted
increased levels of engagement among assisted-living residents, and more so with those in memory
care. Staff members also indicated that through these SingFit sessions, they were able to better get
to know their residents on a deeper and [more] personal level.”
Front Porch Grimace Scale Results: From the Front Porch Report: “Summer House (memory care)
and Assisted Living residents did not fill out a survey about their feedback and expectations on
SingFit. Instead, facilitators filled out a modified mood scale using the Wong-Baker Facial Grimace
Scale (see figure below) to see how SingFit sessions impacted the residents, whether it would be
after one session or over time. Across the three populations, it is clear that moods improved
between 1-2 points after each SingFit session.” A lower number indicates an elevated mood.
Pre-SingFit (baseline)
Post SingFit
Change
Memory Care
3.26
1.45
-1.81
Assisted Living
2.00
0.38
-1.62
Independent Living
3.67
2.43
-1.24
Qualitative Data on Benefits Over Time: From a staff report: “Another important finding worth
noting was the residents’ ability to maintain their cognitive abilities. From observation, in the first
week of the SingFit program at Summer House (memory care) it was very difficult to get the
residents to sing or answer the trivia questions. Towards the end of the pilot, there were
improvements such as being able to answer trivia questions, remembering song titles and/or lyrics,
and being able to recall a personal memory. For example, in the beginning of the program, one
resident could not speak clearly when answering trivia questions. Towards the end of the pilot, she
was able to complete parts of a song lyric, moved more to the songs, and spoke more coherently.”
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323-677-2575
Private & Confidential
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Musical Health Technologies
Quantitative & Qualitative Outcomes White Paper
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SingFit PRIME Customer Reports on Outcomes and Benefits
In Assisted Living & Community Care: SingFit PRIME customers represent the most innovative and
respected dementia care service providers in the country. Below are reports from front line staff on
how the SingFit PRIME program, powered by the SingFit iOS mobile app, creates positive outcomes
for their residents.
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“Some of the people that hardly talk, they sing along to songs with SingFit. I have found that if a
resident is agitated, SingFit can calm them. SingFit can also wake people up and aids sleep
irregularities (for people who tend to sleep through activities all day). It helps residents who pace a
lot to focus and participate even in the activities that come later in the day.” — Chris Saario,
Memory Care Life Enrichment Director at Aegis Living of Marymoor
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“SingFit’s Lyric Coach iPad technology is great! I couldn't hand out books for residents to read the
lyrics because I'd only have a handful of residents who would participate in a sing-along. Now I can
engage a lot more — the Lyric Coach technology really works!” PJ — Activities Director, Callahan
House, an Aegis Living Community
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“I wanted to inform you that the SingFit program is going very well and participation has been
outstanding. Residents who are usually not interactive are singing and following along.” — Kristin
Purcha, Recreation Assistant, Villa Valencia, a 5 STAR Community
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“A resident who usually is room bound, she joined the SingFit session yesterday and made me very
happy - this was such a positive from SingFit.” — Donna George, Director of Programs, Claremont
Manor, a Front Porch Community
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With In-Home & Private Care:
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“I read about SingFit in the AARP Bulletin that we receive monthly. I downloaded it on my iPad and
played with it myself and brought it over to my mom at her skilled nursing
facility. It was a huge hit. Now that my mother has passed, I cherish the
recordings we made together with the SingFit app. Thank you.” — Diana
Spearman, 57
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“It’s difficult to explain what just happened to me [while using SingFit
technology] because it was like a miracle. My voice returned.”— Olivia
Daniels, 78, a former professional singer who had not sung in a decade
due to dementia and vision impairments.
323-677-2575
Watch Olivia at SingFit.com.
Private & Confidential
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Musical Health Technologies
Quantitative & Qualitative Outcomes White Paper
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A Selection of Clinical and Outcome Data on the Benefits of Singing
The Therapeutic Effects of Singing in Neurological Disorders
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996848/
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Using advanced MRI technologies, Dr. Gottfried Schlaug at Harvard Medical School and other
researchers are looking at what happens inside our brains when we undergo intensive singing
therapies. Among other insights, Schlaug has found that by combining singing and rhythmic
activities he can increase the mass of the Broca’s area of the brain, resulting in the acquisition or
reacquisition of speech for nonverbal people on the autism spectrum and stroke survivors.
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Singing as an Intervention for Dementia Provides More Benefits Than Music Listening
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/nov/11/alzheimers-patients-brains-boosted-soundmusic-singing
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A fourth month study at George Mason University shows that while passive music listening provides
some therapeutic benefits for people with dementia, active singing produces even better results in
terms of improvements in memory, cogitation and mood.
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How Parental Singing Produces Weight Gain and Other Benefits in Preemie Care
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2344948/Singing-lullabies-premature-babies-helps-leavehospital-sooner.html#ixzz3JKfTtIdC
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A wrap-up of recent clinical studies including how researchers at New York Presbyterian Hospital
found “lullabies sung by a parent can influence a baby’s cardiac and respiratory function, while
melodies have a positive effect upon a preterm baby’s feeding.”
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Gabrielle Giffords Credits Singing (and Tom Petty) with Recovering Her Speech
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/02/17/exp.ac.gupta.giffords.rehab.cnn
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When Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords received left hemisphere brain trauma as the result of her
Arizona shooting, she lost the ability to speak. Congresswoman Giffords credits the 1-to-1 singing
therapy she received with restoring that ability. Watch Anderson Cooper and neurosurgeon Dr.
Sanjay Gupta discuss how singing takes advantage of neuroplasticity or the ability of the brain to
repair itself to bring about transformative improvements.
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323-677-2575
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