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– On World Sight Day, Halleon and Microsoft are working together to make health products accessible to people who are blind or have low vision, with artificial intelligence (AI) narrating product labels.
– New improvements in the free Microsoft Sing AI app help advance inclusion and improve accessibility.
– Across the US and UK, consumers will hear important label information for more than 1,500 everyday consumer health products, including Sensodyne, Centrum, Emergen-C, ChapStick and Aquafresh.
Redmond, Wash. – October 12, 2022 — On Wednesday, Haleon, a global leader in consumer health, and Microsoft Corp. announced a new partnership to make everyday health more accessible to people who are blind, have low vision, or have difficulty reading labels. Together, the companies are increasing functionality in the Microsoft Vision AI App AI Seeing AI is a free mobile app designed to help visually impaired people by narrating the world around them to provide users with more detailed product information for over 1,500 Haleon products across the US and UK.
On World Sight Day today, people can scan the barcodes of Haleon products and hear packaging information through Seeing AI. This provides voice reading of important information such as brand name, ingredients and usage instructions. With the enhanced functionality of Seeing AI, Haleon helps people take care of their health independently by listening to the account information narrated through the Seeing AI app.
A new global standard for measuring health inclusion, Halleon’s first Health Inclusion Data shows that to improve health inclusion, individuals and communities must be empowered and empowered to truly take their health into their own hands. Driven by its mission to bring better everyday health to humanity, Halleon is committed to helping make healthcare more accessible, inclusive and sustainable. The Seeing AI collaboration with Microsoft is one of Helion’s first new initiatives to champion health inclusion. Microsoft’s Vision AI application can be useful for:
- 1 million Americans live with blindness (CDC, “Fast Facts on Common Eye Disorders, https://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/basics/ced/fastfacts.htm)
- 12 million American adults over the age of 40 are blind or have low vision (CDC, “Fast Facts on Eye Disorders, https://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/basics/ced/fastfacts.htm)
The Seeing AI app was developed by a team of Microsoft engineers led by project lead and engineering manager Saqib Sheikh, who lost his eyesight at the age of seven and was driven to develop the app by his passion for using technology to improve people’s lives.
Saqib Shak, Engineering Manager, Microsoft, said: “I’m excited to see the launch of this enhanced product recognition functionality in partnership with Haleon. Seeing AI’s intelligent barcode scanner plays audio signals to help you find the barcode, and now the information displayed for Haleon products comes directly from the manufacturer, providing rich information including usage instructions and ingredients. This can be useful for someone who can’t read the label, leading to greater independence.
“We believe that everyone should have access to the self-care products, services and information they need to make informed choices about their health needs,” said Katie Williams, US Chief Marketing Officer at Halleon. Haleon has launched this collaboration with Microsoft through the Seeing AI app to make consumer health more accessible, accessible and inclusive. We are proud to help make better everyday health more accessible for the blind and visually impaired.
The Seeing AI app is free to download. Apple App Store And it will be available on Android in the future. To use Seeing AI on Haleon products, users must hold their phone’s camera up to the packaging barcode. The app reads the product name and all the text on the package. Users can skip ahead or return to the relevant section they want to listen to, such as which flavor or how to use the product. Haleon’s barcode functionality is launching today in the US and UK first, with plans to expand globally and add more languages in the future.
About Haleon US
Haleon (NYSE: HLN) is a leading global consumer health company with a portfolio of brands trusted by millions of people every day. In the United States, the organization employs more than 4,700 people united by Haleon’s powerful mission to bring better everyday health to humanity. Haleon products cover five categories: Oral Health, Pain Relief, Respiratory Health, Digestive Health and Wellness. Built on scientific knowledge, innovation and deep human understanding, Haleon’s brands include Abrva, Advil, Benefiber, Centrum, Chapstick.®, Emergen-C, Excedrin, Flonase, Gas-X, Natean, Nexium, Nicorette, Parodontax, Polident, Preparation H, Pronamel, Sensodyne, Robitussin, Theraflu, TUMS, Voltaren and others. For more information about Haleon and its brands, please visit www.haleon.com or contact [email protected].
About Haleon Health Inclusivity Directory
Today’s announcement follows the launch of the Health Inclusion Index, developed by Economist Impact and supported by Haleon. The global survey of 40 countries measures how successful countries are in using policy to remove the personal, social, cultural and political barriers that prevent people and communities from achieving good physical and mental health. The number of countries assessed in the study will grow to more than 80 over the next two years, as part of a new three-year partnership between Halleon and Economist Impact. The report was commissioned by Haleon in its commitment to make better everyday health more accessible, inclusive and sustainable, with the company aiming to create opportunities for inclusion in everyday health to reach 50 million people a year by 2025.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the cloud and intelligent edge era. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
For more information, just click:
Microsoft Media Communications, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777; [email protected]
Meghan Sowa, Haleon US, (919) 864-0953, [email protected]
Note to editors: For more information, news and views from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://news.microsoft.com. Website links, phone numbers and titles were correct at the time of publication but have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts can contact the Microsoft Rapid Response Team or other relevant contacts at this address. https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.
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