Republic Wireless’ Relay device becomes unexpected ‘lifeline’ for families in ICU during COVID-19

NEW YORK – As states grapple with COVID-19, a walkie-talkie device, originally designed for kids by Raleigh startup Relay, has become an unexpected hero in some intensive care units (ICU).

Take New York’s Weill Cornell Medical College, for example. The hospital recently rolled out a pilot program called VoiceLove, distributing 160 Relay devices to COVID-19 patients separated from their families in the ICU.

“The feedback was phenomenal,” said Dr. Marc Schiffman, who spearheaded the project. “Family members are using this like it’s a lifeline to their loved one. In the first 30 days, there were over 45,000 messages sent.”

However, using the device in this setting came about unexpectedly.

It all started back in March when New York got hit with a surge of COVID-19 cases. Schiffman, and his colleague Tamatha Fenster, were working in the ICU with patients on ventilators.

Dr. Tamatha Fenster and Dr. Marc Schiffman at New York’s Weill Cornell Medical College

Families were desperate to make contact, begging the doctors to hold up cell phones to their family members.

“But this was not a fix. It was awful,” recalled Schiffman. “So we tried to figure out if there was a better solution.”

They made a quick trip to Target and found the Relay device in the kids’ toy section.

“We tried out the devices and were like, this is it. Basically, we started calling everybody that we work with to tell them, go to Target and get these devices.”

The lightweight cellular push-to-talk devices are as small as a Post-it note and operate similarly to a walkie-talkie. Rather than fumble with touch-screen iPhones or iPads that nurses have to facilitate, the devices were easily attached to the bedside of patients using a clip or specially designed case.

Each Relay was set up with three user profiles allowing for family members in different locations to log in using the companion app to talk, sing, read, and pray at a patient’s bedside with no to additional work for hospital staff. For those weaker patients either too ill or even unconscious, they can still receive messages without touching any buttons.

“There were patients who were saying they remembered hearing their family’s voices while they were in the coma,” said Schiffman.

Back in 2018, Relay, a startup launched and funded by Republic Wireless, unveiled the cell-based device, marketing it as a “smartphone alternative” for kids.

Schiffman said he hopes the pilot program shows that the device has many other applications, including in a hospital setting.

“This is going to change lives,” he said.