Our History
Our Beginning
AprilAge Inc. started with the development of the first version of our face aging software, APRIL® v.1.0., in consultation with Dr. Hooley McLaughlin, Senior Advisor for Science and Technology at the Ontario Science Centre (OSC) in Toronto, Canada. The software's development sprang from an idea for an interactive exhibit for science center visitors in which a state-of-the-art "aging effect" would be available to show people their "future face", decade by decade, as they grow older. As a result, the very first Amazing Aging Machine was born, and so was a successful and long-standing relationship with the OSC. Today, the OSC launched the magnificent "Human Edge" exhibition - 30,000 square feet of interactive displays about the human body, includes a new APRIL® "visualizing your future" display.
Upon hearing of the software's face aging capabilities, Ms. Pat Hysert at The Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, asked us to develop a "smoking module" - i.e. a version of the software that shows an individual as they age in a side-by-side display of their face. Working with the Roswell Park's "Task Force on Tobacco-Free Women and Girls", Ms. Hysert challenged us to develop a version of APRIL® for use in health care, which would give health care providers a tool for behavior modification and a compelling way to talk about the causes of chronic diseases. As a result, the "contrast and compare" version of the aging results were developed. On one side of their "aged photos", a user sees what their face will look like as they age if they don't smoke and, on the other side, if they do smoke. The obvious differences are often shocking for the individual to look at. It has been proven in independent research and controlled studies that the use of APRIL®'s predictive visualization software increases the number of people who quit smoking by more than 10 times that of the control group.*
APRIL® Face Aging Software Goes Global
Launched in 2010, AprilAge created APRIL® Face Aging Software used to show how your face will age over time. Adds effects of obesity, smoking, and excess sun for impactful and engaging visual comparisons that motivate people to change risky lifestyle behaviours that lead to chronic diseases. Aging results are based on real-world data from real people. It is used by hundreds of customers in more than 30 countries in health and wellness, science, and business for inspiring healthier lifestyles.
The APRIL® software is available by subscription for download to an individual’s computer (for health professionals in a one-on-one setting), through the APRIL® API for customized use on a website or mobile app, or in a kiosk (similar to a “photo booth”, in public settings) for on-the-spot face agings. In a kiosk, the APRIL® face aging engine is accessed by means of a command line interface permitting access through a fully customized interface.
For home and school use, face agings are available at AprilAge.com/AgeMe.
Forme™ is Launched
In 2016, due to rising global obesity rates, AprilAge created Forme ™, a new personal way to visualize changes to the body's BMI over time. Created for health and wellness practitioners in weight and obesity management, and fitness, diet and nutrition programs, Forme ™ gives them an impactful and relevant way to show patients and customers how their body can change with weight gain or loss. Combined with APRIL Face Aging Software, Forme ™ also shows facial aging from ages 7-70 for greater realism and vision of a new future self. Forme ™ is available via download.
AprilAge Inc. is located in Toronto, Canada, with customers in more than 30 countries.
*In a controlled Australian research study (conducted within Australian pharmacies) using the APRIL® Face Aging software, 13.8% of the study’s participants quit smoking after engaging in the face aging visualization process, well above 1.3% in the control group that wasn’t exposed to face aging visualization. The study also found that the smokers were willing to pay for the photo-aging service. http://www.pharmacynews.com.au/news/latest-news/smokers-willing-to-pay-for-pharmacy-digital-photo