The short answer
Circadia Health is a radar monitor beside the bed that measures breathing rate, heart rate, motion and bed exits, with its own physicians and nurses reviewing the trends for early signs of decline. It is FDA-cleared to measure respiratory and heart rate, not to give alarms in acute emergencies, and its fall claims are about fall risk rather than alerting when a fall happens. Several Senior Helpers offices offer it to their clients. The alternatives depend on the job: for a fall, Senecta, which senses heat and sound in the room, asks the client “Are you okay?” first and then calls the agency and the family, or Pontosense (radar); for listening-based insights, Sensi.AI; for routines, StackCare.
At a glance
| Circadia Health | Senecta | |
|---|---|---|
| How it senses | Radar beside the bed; no camera | Low-resolution thermal sensing plus sound; no ordinary camera |
| Built for | Nursing and post-acute care, and homes: some Senior Helpers offices offer it to clients | Clients in their own homes, through home care agencies |
| What it notices | Breathing rate, heart rate, motion and bed exits; its fall claims are about fall risk, not alerting when a fall happens | A possible fall in the room; it asks the client first, then calls the people in the response plan |
| What is kept | Measurements stored in Circadia's cloud for its clinical team; no camera | Nothing, except the heat images and audio of an event classified as a possible fall |
| Who answers alerts | Its own physicians and nurses triage changes and work with the agency to reach the client or family; not for real-time emergencies | Your agency and the family's emergency contacts, by phone; no monitoring centre |
| Setup and connection | Installed by Circadia's team at the bedside, on the home's Wi-Fi | Plug-in pods with built-in cellular; nothing to mount or join to the home's Wi-Fi |
| Whose brand families see | Circadia's; we found no white-label option | Your agency's |
Circadia Health facts from its website, solutions page, help center, introduction, its FDA 510(k) summary, a Senior Helpers office's post, as read on October 21, 2026. Senecta's from our service agreement. Check each company's current terms before you decide.
How each one works
Circadia watches the night. A radar monitor beside the bed measures breathing rate, heart rate, motion and bed exits without touching the client, and Circadia's clinical team of physicians and registered nurses reviews the trends for early signs of decline, such as an infection or heart failure getting worse. It is FDA-cleared, by prescription, to measure respiratory rate and heart rate in care facilities and, since May 2026, in the home. Circadia's team installs it on the home's Wi-Fi.
Senecta looks at heat and listens for events. A low-resolution thermal sensor sees a person as a warm shape, and a microphone listens for the sounds that go with a fall. The pair is built for one question, whether someone went down and stayed down, and the pod asks the client “Are you okay?” before anyone is called. If the answer is not a clear yes, it calls your agency and the family's emergency contacts in the order you agreed. How Senecta detects a possible fall explains the method and its limits.
What is kept, and the consent conversation
Neither has an ordinary camera. Circadia's radar measurements are stored in its cloud and reviewed by its clinical team. Senecta's thermal sensor sees a person as a warm shape and its microphone's sound is analysed as it happens; nothing is kept except the heat images and audio of a possible fall. Our security and privacy page sets out exactly what Senecta keeps.
Who answers when something happens
The two answer different questions. Circadia's clinicians watch for a slow change over nights and days and work with the agency to reach the client or the family; Circadia says it is not intended for real-time monitoring of medical emergencies. Senecta is built for the moment itself: when it notices a possible fall, the pod asks the client “Are you okay?” and, if the answer is not a clear yes, calls your agency and the family's emergency contacts until someone answers. A client can have both: one for the night's vital signs, one for a fall in the bathroom.
Other alternatives to Circadia Health
The other products agency owners most often name to us, and how each one works.
| Product | How it works | Built for |
|---|---|---|
| Sensi.AI | Audio pods that listen in the home and send insights and alerts to the agency's care team | Home care agencies and franchise networks |
| Pontosense | 60 GHz radar in a corner of the room; falls, activity and vital signs, alerts by app | Home care agencies and senior living; Comfort Keepers' Comfort360 SafeGuard |
| StackCare | Battery motion and door sensors that learn a routine and send app alerts when it changes | Home care agencies, senior living and families |
| Lifeguard Health | Wi-Fi motion, door, fridge and bathroom sensors with a 24/7 alert center; follows routines, not falls | Home care agencies; offered by some Griswold offices |
| Cherish | A plug-in hub with radar that senses through walls, microphones and a speaker; alerts the family and its response center | Families, through security dealers and AT&T; a wall version for facilities |
| CarePredict | A wrist band with room beacons: possible falls, activity trends, a help button and two-way voice | Senior living; families buy it as SilverKin |
| SafelyYou | AI cameras in residents' rooms; its remote team confirms each fall for community staff | Assisted living and memory care communities |
| Vayyar Care | Radar on the wall or ceiling, fitted by installers; alerts go to facility staff | Senior living and care facilities |
| Butlr | Thermal sensors on the ceiling, with no camera or microphone; flags bed exits, wandering and possible falls for staff | Senior living communities, in pilots in 2026 |
| Nobi | A smart ceiling light that takes infrared images; it asks the person, a reviewer checks the image, then staff are alerted | Senior living and care homes |
| TeiaCare | An optical sensor above each bed with infrared night vision; alerts staff to bed exits and falls | Nursing homes, mainly in Italy |
All of them compared on one page: Compare.
When Circadia Health is the better choice
- You want vital signs and early warning of decline, reviewed by a clinical team, more than alerts when someone falls.
- You are a Senior Helpers office, where other offices already offer it to their clients.
- You also serve skilled nursing or post-acute settings that use it with PointClickCare.
When Senecta is the better choice
- The families' first worry is a fall in the bathroom or the kitchen, noticed in minutes.
- You want the client asked “Are you okay?”, and your agency and the family called if not.
- You want pods that plug in in any room, with their own cellular connection and no installer.
- You want to offer the service under your agency's name.
Questions agency owners ask
What are the alternatives to Circadia Health for home care agencies?
It depends on the job. For falls: Senecta (heat and sound; it asks the client first, then calls the agency and the family) and Pontosense (radar). For listening-based insights: Sensi.AI. For routines and bathroom trends: StackCare and Lifeguard Health.
Does Circadia detect falls?
Circadia measures breathing rate, heart rate, motion and bed exits. Its fall claims are about reducing fall risk, and its help center says bed-exit alerts do not prevent falls; we found no claim that it alerts when a fall happens.
Is Circadia FDA-cleared?
Yes, to measure respiratory rate and heart rate, by prescription, in care facilities and, since May 2026, in the home. Its FDA summary says it does not provide alarms for timely response in acute life-threatening situations.
Can a client have Circadia and Senecta together?
Yes. They do different jobs: Circadia watches vital signs at the bedside over nights and days; Senecta notices a possible fall in the rooms where its pods are, checks in with the client and calls the response plan.
Next step
Compare it on your own book.
Thirty minutes with your client mix: which homes, what you would charge, and how the response would work.
Book your agency demoSenecta makes one of the products compared here, so read our description of ourselves with that in mind. We have described Circadia Health and the other products from their own public pages and their partners', as read on October 21, 2026, and linked each one; their offers may change. Senecta is not an emergency service or a staffed monitoring centre, does not replace in-person care, and no system detects every fall.