– On World Sight Day, Haleon and Microsoft are launching a joint effort to make health products more accessible for people who are blind or have low vision, with artificial intelligence (AI) technology that narrates product labels.
– New enhancements in the free Ms Seeing AI app will help advance inclusivity and improve accessibility.
– Across the particular U. S. and U. K., consumers will hear important label information with regard to over 1, 500 everyday consumer wellness products such as Sensodyne, Centrum, Emergen-C, ChapStick and Aquafresh.

REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 12, 2022 — Upon Wednesday, Haleon, a global leader in consumer health, plus Microsoft Corp. announced a new collaboration to make everyday health more accessible for those who are sightless, have lower vision or have difficulty reading product labeling due in order to low literacy. Together, the companies are expanding functionality in the particular Microsoft Viewing AI application to provide customers with more detailed labelling info for over one, 500 Haleon products across the Oughout. S. and U. K. Seeing AI is the free mobile app designed to help people who have trouble seeing by narrating the world around them.

With today’s launch on World Sight Day, people will certainly hear packaging information through Seeing AI by scanning the barcode of Haleon products. This will provide an audio read-out of important information, such as product name, ingredients plus usage instructions. Through Seeing AI’s enhanced functionality, Haleon will help empower people to care for their own health independently by listening to label details narrated through the Seeing AI application.

Haleon’s inaugural Health Inclusivity Index, which sets a new global standard for measuring health inclusivity, makes clear that to improve wellness inclusivity, individuals and communities need in order to be provided with the power and the tools to truly take their health into their own hands. Haleon, driven by its purpose to deliver better everyday wellness with humanity, is committed to helping make healthcare more achievable, inclusive and sustainable. The Seeing AI collaboration along with Microsoft is one of Haleon’s first new initiatives to champion health inclusivity. The particular Microsoft Viewing AI app can be a benefit to:

• The 1 million Americans who live with blindness (CDC, “Fast Facts of Common Eye Disorders, https://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/basics/ced/fastfacts.htm)
• The 12 million U. H. adults over the age of 40 who are blind and have low vision (CDC, “Fast Facts of Common Eye Disorders, https://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/basics/ced/fastfacts.htm)

The particular Seeing AI app was developed by a team associated with Microsoft engineers spearheaded simply by project lead and engineering manager Saqib Shaikh, who lost his sight at the age of seven and was driven to develop the application by their passion intended for using technologies to improve people’s lives.

Saqib Shaikh, engineering manager at Microsof company, said: “I’m really excited to see the launch of this enhanced item recognition features, developed in collaboration with Haleon. Seeing AI’s intelligent barcode scanner plays audio cues to help you find the barcode, and now the information displayed for Haleon products is coming straight from the manufacturer, providing richer information including usage instructions plus ingredients. This can be invaluable with regard to someone who cannot read the label, leading to greater independence. ”

Katie Williams, U. S. chief marketing officer at Haleon said, “We believe everyone should have access to self-care products, services as well as the information needed to make informed, proactive choices about their health needs. Haleon initiated this collaboration with Microsoft via its Seeing AI app to make consumer health more accessible, achievable in addition to inclusive. We are proud to help make better everyday health more in reach for the blind and those with low vision. ”

The Seeing AI app is free to download from the particular Apple App Store and will be available on Android in the future. To use Viewing AI upon Haleon’s items, users ought to hold their own phone camera over the packaging barcode. The app will read out the product name and all text on the package. Users can skip ahead or move back to typically the relevant section they want to listen to, for example, which flavor or how to use the item. The particular Haleon bar code functionality will certainly launch today in the U. S. and even U. K. first, with plans to expand globally and add additional languages in the future.

About Haleon Oughout. S.

Haleon (NYSE: HLN) is a leading global consumer health company with a portfolio of brands trusted daily by millions of people. In the United States, the organization employs more than 4, 700 people who are united by Haleon’s powerful purpose to deliver better daily health along with humanity. Haleon’s products span five categories:   Oral Health, Pain Relief, Respiratory Health, Digestive Wellness, and Wellness. Built about scientific expertise, innovation, together with deep human understanding, Haleon’s brands include Abreva, Advil, Benefiber, Centrum, ChapStick ^® , Emergen-C, Excedrin, Flonase, Gas-X, Natean, Nexium, Nicorette, Parodontax, Polident, Preparation H, Pronamel, Sensodyne, Robitussin, Theraflu, TUMS, Voltaren, and additionally more. For more information on Haleon and the brands, please visit www.haleon.com or contact [email protected] .

About the Haleon Well being Inclusivity Catalog

Today’s announcement closely follows this launch of the Health Inclusivity Index, developed by Economist Impact and supported by Haleon. The world-first global study of 40 countries measures how successful countries are in using policy to remove the personal, social, cultural, not to mention political barriers which could otherwise prevent people and communities from achieving good physical and mental health. Typically the number associated with countries assessed within the research will grow to over 80 on the next two years as part regarding a brand new three-year partnership between Haleon and also Economist Effect. The report has been commissioned by Haleon as part of their commitment in order to making better everyday wellness more achievable, inclusive as well as sustainable, with the company aiming to create a lot more opportunities for people to become included in each day health, reaching 50 million people the year simply by 2025.

About Microsoft

Ms (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for often the era involving an intelligent cloud and an smart edge. Its mission will be to empower every person and every organization on the planet to be able to achieve even more.

To find out more, press only:

Microsof company Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft company, (425) 638-7777, [email protected]

Meghan Sowa, Haleon You. S., (919) 864-0953, [email protected]

Note for you to editors: To learn more, news plus perspectives through Microsoft, please visit the ‘microsoft’ News Center at  http://news.microsoft.com . Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists in addition to analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at  https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts .