WellBe: Voice-Enabled Health Management System

Executive Summary

Client: HandsFree Health

Industry: HealthTech | IoT

Engagement: Long-Term Partnership

Country: United States

Project at a Glance

HandsFree Health’s WellBe platform supports seniors and people with chronic conditions through a voice-enabled assistant and connected wearables. After a previous vendor failed to deliver, HFH engaged VOLO to rescue and rebuild the ecosystem.

A focused recovery effort grew into a long-term partnership, with VOLO rebuilding the mobile and device layers to ensure reliable operation across mobile, wearables, and cloud services.

About the Client

HandsFree Health is a U.S.-based health technology company focused on voice-enabled care.

Its flagship product, WellBe, helps seniors and people with chronic conditions manage medications, appointments, and daily health tasks through a voice assistant paired with mobile apps and connected wearables. Caregivers stay informed through alerts and shared access, supporting user safety and independence.

Now part of Quarvis Health, the company is expanding its role in digital-first, home-based care and remote health support.

The Challenge

The WellBe mobile and device ecosystem was unstable, fragmented, and difficult to scale. Critical integrations were incomplete, preventing users from reliably managing key health workflows such as medications, appointments, and emergency alerts across devices.

The platform also needed near real-time synchronization between mobile and wearable experiences, while meeting strict HIPAA requirements for privacy, security, and data handling.

At the same time, COVID-era demand for remote care significantly increased reliance on the product, raising expectations for uptime and consistency. Delivery was further complicated by supply chain disruptions, cross-team dependencies, and distributed development teams, putting rollout timelines under constant pressure.

Key Challenges

Stabilize the mobile app and integrate with voice assistants and wearable devices
Ensure HIPAA compliance and robust data security
Implement data synchronisation across devices
Support time-sensitive tasks such as medication tracking and emergency response
Hit launch deadlines despite COVID-related delays and remote workflows

Without immediate intervention, HandsFree Health risked missing the launch window and losing early user trust.

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Our Solution

VOLO took full ownership of the WellBe mobile app and custom smartwatch launcher, rebuilding both from the ground up. We re-architected the platform to ensure stable performance, full HIPAA compliance, and seamless integration across voice assistants, connected wearables, and the core cloud infrastructure, creating a dependable foundation for scalable remote care.

Connected Health Experience Across Mobile and Wearables 

VOLO rebuilt the WellBe mobile app and developed a custom AOSP-based smartwatch launcher to work as a single, connected experience. Users can track health metrics, manage medications, and stay in touch with caregivers, while the watch continuously monitors activity and falls. The wearable is optimized for low false positives, efficient battery usage, BLE syncing, step tracking, and 4G connectivity, so near real-time health data is always available to users and caregivers. 

Secure Connectivity and Health Data Flow 

Devices are provisioned via BLE, securely transferring Wi-Fi credentials and user identifiers to Azure. The system automatically synchronizes data when connectivity returns, ensuring eventual consistency across mobile and wearables. Medication reminders, appointment alerts, and emergency notifications are orchestrated using Azure Event Grid and Notification Hubs, with data encrypted in transit and at rest to meet HIPAA expectations. Alerts respect time zones, quiet hours, and escalation rules to balance safety with a low-noise user experience. 

Fleet Operations and Remote Updates  

VOLO enabled OTA firmware updates across the device fleet, so new features, patches, and optimizations can be rolled out without physical access or downtime. Staged rollouts, rollback options, and telemetry dashboards give the HandsFree Health team clear visibility into device health and allow them to detect and resolve issues proactively.

The Impact

The WellBe platform now delivers stable, HIPAA-compliant health management across mobile, voice, and wearable devices. Elderly users can track medications, manage health tasks independently, and receive timely notifications. Caregivers can monitor status, receive alerts, and respond faster through the connected WellBe experience.

VOLO resolved critical challenges such as integrating voice assistants, wearables, and real-time notifications while maintaining security and data integrity. A modular architecture allows new devices and features to be added without disruption, while CI/CD pipelines and OTA updates streamline deployments and reduce operational overhead.

The result is a scalable platform that improves day-to-day health management, strengthens caregiver support, and reduces reliance on in-person care.