Global Indianstory Global Indian YouthJui Keskar: Bringing relief to Parkinson’s patients with a wearable device that tracks tremors

Jui Keskar: Bringing relief to Parkinson’s patients with a wearable device that tracks tremors

Written by: Charu Thakur

(August 12, 2022) India is home to 0.58 million persons living with Parkinson’s disease, and Pune-based inventor Jui Keskar’s abode was no different. Having seen her uncle battle the illness for the past nine years with incessant rounds to the hospitals, she was keen to help him. But how was the question that kept gnawing at her? However, the lockdown in 2020 turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the teenager as it gave her the time to dive into research and find a potential solution to helping her uncle. While scrolling through heaps of data on the internet, the innovator realised that the medication depended on the tremor history, and there was no device to measure them.

That was a turning point for this Global Indian as she decided to develop a wearable device to measure tremors and analyse data to chalk out a customised medication for the treatment.

“The disease causes involuntary tremors, and my 42-year-old uncle could not control them. I’ve seen him in this state for almost nine years. I observed that doctors administered or prescribed medication based on the frequency of the occurrence of these tremors, but there was no device to measure them,” the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2022 recipient told Better India.

Jui Keskar

After months of hard work, the innovator nailed the solution in JTremor-3D, a wearable device that enables the tracking of tremors every 1/10th of a second in a person’s body, and stores the data in a Cloud database, which is then sent to the doctor after the information is processed. Embedded with sensors and accelerometers and gyro meters, this device helps in producing the data that can help determine the course of action for a patient.

Brainstorming for the possible solution, she found her inspiration in a quote she read a while ago – ‘One cannot control what one cannot measure’. It stayed with her for a while and helped her realise that the only way to control the tremors would be to measure them.

But to reach a plausible solution, she had to go through permutation and combination. “Research showed that such devices already exist, but they’re bulky and limited to only clinical trials and research purposes. There were no wearable devices that were of everyday use or that could allow doctors to prescribe medication according to the needs of the patients,” she added. This led her to work on JTremor3D – which was initially designed as a small box that needed to be strapped to the body. However, a few prototypes later she zeroed in on a hand glove, which is priced at ₹9000.

The innovation won her many accolades including Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Ignited mind Children Creativity and Innovation Award 2020, Grand Award at IRIS National Fair 2021, and Science Seed award at ISEF from Society of Science, USA 2021. However, the more was published about her innovation, the more she realised the huge information gap exists among patients and families in towns and villages in India. That’s when she started Why Beat-The-Tremor Foundation with the aim “to bridge this gap with the mission to support the patients of Parkinson’s Disease in India, virtually for now,” reads the website.” There is a need to capture and curate relevant information (suitable diet, exercises, treatment options) and make it available to the patients and their family members in the language of their choice,” adds the innovator.

Having already filed for the patent, she intends to make it available in the market as soon as possible. She is inspired to help patients get better treatment, and she is leaving no stone unturned to make it happen.

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shreya

December 11, 2023 1:46 pm

that’s sooo good

Published on 12, Aug 2022

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Akash Manoj: Innovator develops revolutionary device for silent heart attack detection

(December 9, 2023) At 13, Akash Manoj lost his grandfather to a silent heart attack. Despite being a diabetic and someone with high blood pressure, he was a healthy person. But seeing him collapse and die, owing to a silent heart attack is one of the most heart wrenching moments for him. "Silent heart attacks happen to people who have underlying conditions like diabetes and these patients have nerve damage that blocks out all the alarm signals that the heart is sending," Manoj explained in an interview. That's when he began research in the space as he decided to go on war against a deadly killer as it becomes fatal for patients without any noticeable symptoms. Moreover, the silent heart attacks account for 50 percent of all heart attacks across the globe, and more than 8 million people die each year due to silent heart attacks. "I took time off to read as much as I can on the heart during my school. I was just wanting to find a solution." This prompted him to work for three years with varied government and private labs to come up with a skin patch that can detect a silent heart attack six

Akash Manoj | Global Indian" width="754" height="424" />

This prompted him to work for three years with varied government and private labs to come up with a skin patch that can detect a silent heart attack six hours before it happens. His breakthrough innovation – which could revolutionise healthcare – won him an award at Intel ISEF 2018 and has received clinical validation from the Tokyo University of Science, London’s Royal Society of Medicine and Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

"It is a watch-like device that you wear around your wrist and place a patch near your chest. The non-invasive device will identify the alarm signal your heart is sending through a unique bio-electric system that I have developed so you don’t need a blood test at all," Akash, who is the President’s Gold Medal recipient, had told in an interview.

The patch work emits a small amount of positive charge, which attracts the negatively-charged FABP3 protein, a biomarker for heart attacks. If analysis shows an increased level of the protein, a heart attack is underway.

[caption id="attachment_34516" align="aligncenter" width="457"] Akash Manoj receives Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar[/caption]

Akash, who calls himself a cardiology researcher, uses a cardiac biomarker called heart-type fatty acid binding protein in his preventive technology "which is released up to six hours before a heart attack, thereby giving us a way for early detection. If the levels are beyond the recommended threshold, that would mean you are at risk of a potential heart attack, so you need to rush to the doctor for immediate medical care".

The student at medical school in Prague, Czech Republic began studying on the subject in school after his grandfather's death. He was in eighth grade when he started visiting the library at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, which is quite from Hosur, his hometown in Tamil Nadu. But he was determined to understand more about the heart and find a solution. "Journal articles are expensive, so visiting the libraries was the only way I could do it. Otherwise, it would have cost more than a crore (of rupees) for the amount I read. I was always interested in medical science and I liked reading the journals…cardiology is my favourite," he told a daily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blQpT50WW9s

After years of research, he made a breakthrough with a non-invasive device which is inexpensive, portable and wearable by at-risk patients at all times. "It requires no blood test and works 24/7 collecting and analysing data at preset intervals, he said in a TedTalk.

The device is being tested on patients with health issues. "We have seen positive results so far, but any tangible conclusions can only be made after the study has been completed," Manoj said, adding that the device might be available in the market in the next few years. "I am also working with key stakeholders in the wearables industry to integrate this system into watch-like wearable devices," he said.

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Moitri Santra: Florida teen’s innovation can combat harmful algae blooms

During a vacation to Costa Rica in 2018, then ten-year-old Moitri Santra saw that the waters seemed red and brown. Although she didn't know at the time, she was looking at Red Tide, one of the many harmful algae blooms that release toxins which are fatal to fish, shellfish, marine mammals and birds which feed on the poisoned fish. Apart from this, these harmful algal blooms deplete the oxygen available in the water. Moreover, she noticed signage all over the beach, warning people not to go in the water. The Global Indian would go on to create a solution to harvest harmful algae when it is still alive and potentially turn it into biofuel. What are Harmful Algal Blooms? [caption id="attachment_37062" align="aligncenter" width="272"] Moitri Santra[/caption] When Moitri Santra got home to Florida, she began researching toxic algae, discovering that it is a rapidly growing concern. She found a seven-year study by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the harmful algae event database had record 9,503 events with impacts on human society. "It contaminates marine life and sea food," said the teenager, during her presentation for the 3M Young Scientists Challenge. She went on to develop a robot, and a film gel that

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the harmful algae event database had record 9,503 events with impacts on human society. "It contaminates marine life and sea food," said the teenager, during her presentation for the 3M Young Scientists Challenge. She went on to develop a robot, and a film gel that can attract algae to a substrate. Her vision is to be able to clear the oceans of Harmful Algal Blooms by collecting the algae alive and converting it to biofuel.

Harmful Algal Blooms occur naturally in waterbodies, and can also be encourage dby human activities. Phosphate and nitrate runoffs from fertilizers, as well as from sewage and leachate (liquid from solid waste), along with excessive sunshine can cause harmful algal blooms to proliferate. They also ten dto prefer warmer, still and more shallow waters. Huge amounts of money are spent to clear water bodies of these HABs, the US alone spent $1.1 billion in 2020. Also, there are products to combat these blooms, but Moitri says they just aren't up to the mark, or are pollutants in themselves.

Moitri's solution

"I created a water soluble, biodegradable and positively charged gel with a citrate ion and citric acid," Moitri explains. The chitosan and citric acid contained in the gel induces coagulation in the algae. She spent a summer vacation experimenting with gels and substrates, transforming the family dining room into her makeshift lab. "These algal blooms are everywhere but are especially prominent in Florida," she explains.

Moitri's gel is designed to be biodegradable and water soluble, reducing its environmental impact. The chitosan polymer swells and carries the citric acid in water in the gel. The gel induced coagulation in the algae, causing it to clump together, become dense and sink to the bottom. However, the process also causes them to die. However the decomposition process depletes oxygen from the water, killing off marine life all around it.

A functioning prototype

Her 3M mentor, Dr Kannan Seshadri helped her with a turnaround. Moitri Santra realised that algae can be harvested to make biofuel, which comes with environmental benefits of its own. "I experimented with gels, powders and flakes and found that dried film gel floats effectively on water, and attract algae in under a minute. However, this requires a substrate material to trap the algae. In her early version, Moitri had used a scotch brite sponge, which is a non woven material with intertwining fibres. "I experimented with around a dozen non wovens in rayon, viscose, wood pulp, PA and nylon," she explains. "I chose only the hydrophobic ones because the hydrophilic materials will soak up water and become heavy. Finally, she settled on PET non-woven material.

But after all this, how is the algae harvested? For this, she built SCARAB, an EV3 robot that can be deployed on a boat. The substrate is tied to spools and fastened under a 'guide' to hold the material in place. The material is coated with gel and when the motors are turn on, the spool spins slowly counterclockwise, ravelling and unravelling the substrate to collect algae. The material of the substrate also allows the algae to become trapped. "The algae are alive at the end of the process. I examined it under a microscope and it was clearly moving," she adds.

The 3M Challenge and Broadcom Masters

She attributes much of her success to her mentor, Dr Kannan Seshadri. "He helped me turn my simple idea into a functioning prototype," Moitri says. "I was thinking of sinking the algae and he allowed me to see that it could potentially cause more environmental harm." Moitri's next challenge is to remove the algae from the strip without damaging it, which she hopes to do with a primer. "If the right primer is used it can also increase the strip's reusability," she says. She hopes to see her innovation being deployed around the world, and the eventual use of this harvested algae in the making of biofuels.

In 2022, Moitri also placed second in the technology category at the Broadcom MASTERS, taking home a cash prize and the opportunity to attend a STEM summer camp. She decided to follow her interest in medicine and medical university at the University of Connecticut's Pre-College Summer Program for its pre-med focus. There, she spent her time attending lectures in the morning and taking practical lessons in the afternoons, exploring a different specialization everyday. "using mannequins, we did simulations of emergency situations," says Moitri, who has always been fascinated by the human body and its many complex functions.

Zain Samdani: The innovator’s robotic glove is helping patients with paralysed hands

(June 10, 2022) As a 15-year-old visiting India from Saudi Arabia, Zain Samdani had no idea that this family vacation was set to change the course of his life. A meeting with his partially paralysed distant maternal uncle left him "shocked." In the era of technology, seeing his uncle dependent on others for every small thing was nothing short of a horror. That encounter nudged this robotics enthusiast and innovator to develop Neuro-ExoHeal, an exoskeletal hand rehabilitation device that utilises neuroplasticity and Azure technology to help patients with neurological damage recover faster at an affordable price. The innovation not only left Google CEO Sundar Pichai impressed but also made the 21-year-old win Microsoft 2022 Imagine Cup World Championship, which is considered as the 'Olympics of Technology' with more than 10,000 participants from 160 countries. "Having been interested in robotics from a very young age, I started working with prosthetic designs in 2013. But I realised that cosmetic prosthetic hand could cost between ₹1-₹2 lakh while a robotic prosthetic hand was available anywhere between ₹40-₹50 lakh. I knew that affordability was the key. But the meeting with my uncle only strengthened my passion to find an affordable solution," Zain tells Global Indian.

ells Global Indian.

A robotics enthusiast in the making

The Hyderabad-born moved to Saudi Arabia at a very young age with his project manager father and homemaker mother. When he noticed that his mom was always busy with household chores and raising kids, the then five-year-old Zain promised to make her a robot that would ease her burden. "It was that early that my love for robotics began," laughs Zain who is currently in India after wrapping up his first-year exams at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany.

For the Ashoka Young Changemaker 2021, it all started with that one idea and later progressed into in-depth research on the subject. However, things started to move when he began programming at age 12 and within a year, was into prosthetic designs. "For me it's a two-step process. I visualise the product in my head first, and then make it with a cardboard. Back then 3D printing was booming but was also expensive. To cut the cost, I reached out to Make India, a 3D printing company in Saudi Arabia who sent the code free of cost after hearing about the purpose behind it," says the innovator whose biggest takeaway from the incident was "to never stop asking."

How passion turned into a mission

The passion turned into a mission after the chance encounter with his paralysed uncle which led him to create ExoHeal. "It was upsetting to see that despite technological advancement in the world, nothing was done to help him move around." This nudged Zain to build a device based on the concept of neuroplasticity. Divided into a sensory glove for the functional hand and an exoskeletal robotic hand for the paralysed hand, the first prototype came into existence post extensive research and innumerable meetings with neuroscientists and physiotherapists.

[caption id="attachment_17917" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Zain Samdani[/caption]

During his research, the Global Teen Leader 2019 found that "the patients were frustrated with the system and had given up hope." This made Zain even more determined to give them a "sense of independence" and do things on their own, and led to the creation of Neuro-ExoHeal which helps a paralysed hand replicate a movement made by the functional hand. "The mirroring allows the neuron to trick the brain into believing that the paralysed hand is working perfectly, thus forming new neural connections."

The earliest prototype made him one of the 16 global finalists at the Google Science Fair in 2016, and later the advanced version recreated the magic in 2019. "My uncle could feel the sensation on the very first day of using Neuro-ExoHeal. It’s something that otherwise takes weeks or months to achieve," Zain beams with pride as his creation is on its way to a proper clinical trial in the next few months. "Pandemic in 2020 pushed the plans but now we are back on track," says the innovator who is happy with the initial response from many patients. "Seeing it work, many have been enquiring as to when it will be launched in the market."

Looking for a silver lining, always

Zain, who began as innovator and later moved to entrepreneurship, calls the journey transformative. "It essentially enabled me to look outward – to see what was going around me and make the right connection," reveals Zain who wants to make a two-fold impact. "I want to enable paralysed patients to regain independence and also want to work in the space of mental health."

The entrepreneur feels that overachievers like him are often under pressure to outdo themselves, and this takes a toll on mental health. It hit him hard in 2018 when was diagnosed with intermittent exotropia, a rare medical condition that doubles your vision every two or three hours. "It happened right before my boards and my studies were affected. My brain would shut down every few minutes due to constant doubling of my vision." Not one to give up, amidst the chaos, Zain decided to find the silver lining. "It gave me time to think about myself and that's when my raw artistic expression came out. I have been a painter but this break gave me time to explore my passions beyond innovation," says the innovator who recovered completely within two years with the help of rehabilitation. A poet and a painter, Zain loves unwinding with board games. For him, life is about knowing yourself but most importantly, making a positive impact that can change people’s lives.

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Nikhiya Shamsher: Taking on the ’emperor of maladies’ with QuitPuff

(August 5, 2022) A hospital visit for her project Compassionate Clowns changed Nikhiya Shamsher's life forever. She was just 14 when she saw a man whose half jaw was removed due to oral cancer. Upon inquiring about him, the nurse affirmed that he was one of the few lucky ones to survive. Unable to get the ghastly image out of her head, she began researching on oral subject and found staggering statistics. Five people die every hour because of oral cancer, and India itself accounts for almost one-third of the cases in the world. It's the late diagnosis that accounts for high mortality rate, and this led the 19-year-old innovator to do some deep thinking. Perturbed by the condition of the patients, she asked the difficult questions - why oral cancer was mostly detected in a late stage? Many sleepless nights and some research later, she found her eureka moment in QuitPuff. Then in Class 9, she wanted to help, and came up with the prototype of a diagnostic device that could help early risk detection of oral pre-cancer and cancer. Explaining the process of its functioning, the innovator told Forbes India, "It is a simple principle, it detects a

nciple, it detects a biomarker present in the saliva, and changes colour. The more the biomarker, the darker the colour will be, which means the higher the risk of developing oral cancer." The device contains QuitPuff reagent which changes colour after an individual spits in it and heats it for 15 minutes. One can compare the colour to the colour chart to understand the risk stage.

[caption id="attachment_20375" align="aligncenter" width="722"] Nikhiya Shamsher busy with experimentation[/caption]

Priced at ₹38, QuitPuff has already been tested on more than 500 patients. Being easy on pocket and hassle-free storage, "QuitPuff is useful as a mass screening tool not only for routine clinics, but also for rural areas and remote locations with limited laboratory facilities or minimally trained health workers," mentions the QuitPuff website.

Her research paper found a place in Harvard University Journal of Emerging Investigators, and later the innovation won her the Gandhian Young Technological Awards with a government grant through the Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions. Nikhiya, who is pursuing a degree in bioengineering from Stanford University, reveals that QuitPuff doesn't diagnose oral cancer instead tells one the risk at which they are of developing the cancer.

While her innovation has found appreciation from all quarters, she had to face a lot of skepticism and rejection initially, owing to her age. "When I wanted to get tests done with patients, I went to a bunch of hospitals for permission, but faced a lot of rejections since most of them didn’t believe in my project because I was very ‘young’. Eventually, I managed to do the project at Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru," the innovator told Forbes. With the clinical trials on, the Global Indian is hopeful that QuitPuff will reach the people in a couple of years.

However, Nikhiya's heart lies not just in innovation. The Diana Legacy awardee is also the founder of Women Have the Same Set of Teeth as Men, an NGO she started at age 12 to give equal access to education. It all began when her school bag was given as a hand-me-down to her housekeeper's daughter, who sent her a thank-you note in return. That's when she realised that the girl didn't own a bag until then and used to carry her books in a plastic bag. This prompted her to start an initiative - Bags, Books and Blessings, wherein she asked for usable books, well-kept bags, geometry boxes, water bottles and uniforms, and distributed it among underprivileged students. Till now, the innovator has helped more than 11000 students from 30 schools with school supplies.

[caption id="attachment_20379" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Nikhiya Shamsher receives Diana Award for Prince Williams and Prince Charles[/caption]

A year later, she founded Yearn to Learn that opens and maintains STEM labs in underfunded schools in India. The idea came after she stumbled upon some shocking data that in underfunded schools, entire classroom of 50 students were using a single textbook and most walked barefoot to school. “Senior students hadn’t conducted a single experiment during their entire school year and learnt them through books. They often fared badly in exams. Low grades affected their self-confidence and they dropped out of schools to pursue menial tasks,” she told Deccan Chronicle.

This stirred up something inside her, and with the help of her parents and a few volunteers, she set up 15 labs which helped 3500 kids benefit as their grades improved by 30 percent. Till now, she has opened 120 labs in 30 schools, helping impact 15,000 students. "The world’s population is seven billion. Some people see that as a burden, I see a huge opportunity. If we can get even 10 percent more students in technological fields, we can solve a lot that plagues us today – climate change, scarce resources and conflicts. It is simply a statistical advantage. Someday a student from one of my Yearn to Learn Labs will become the next Edison or Einstein and that would make me very proud," added the innovator.

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Shattering boundaries: Illinois student Sirihaasa Nallamothu is an inspiration for young girls

(May 23, 2023) While people her age were busy making trending reels on TikTok, a young teenager from Illinois was busy getting inspired for her next project on the platform. A student of University High School in Normal, Sirihaasa Nallamothu's spirit was ignited by a serendipitous encounter with a TikTok video. She then embarked on a profound journey to research about Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) - which is a condition that causes a number of symptoms when you transition from lying down to standing up, such as a fast heart rate, dizziness and fatigue - and its elusive association with syncope prediction, including when the patients might faint or blackout. After several weeks of research and study, the Global Indian was able to make a breakthrough, winning the prestigious Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing, which empowers students to pursue computing challenges beyond the traditional classroom environment. Sirihaasa, who has also received a cash prize of $10,000 for her project, is the first person to undertake such a groundbreaking initiative, which in her words, "propelled her into uncharted territory by amassing invaluable human subject field data from individuals afflicted by POTS." But, that's not all that the young student

" rel="noopener">Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing, which empowers students to pursue computing challenges beyond the traditional classroom environment. Sirihaasa, who has also received a cash prize of $10,000 for her project, is the first person to undertake such a groundbreaking initiative, which in her words, "propelled her into uncharted territory by amassing invaluable human subject field data from individuals afflicted by POTS."

But, that's not all that the young student has achieved. Sirihaasa also founded Girls Who Code and Dream Coders clubs at her Middle school, for the other young girls who wanted to have a career in the software industry. Fueled by an unwavering passion for coding, she embarked on a transformative journey, not only as a dedicated instructor but as a visionary architect of a comprehensive coding curriculum that propelled her peers into the realm of technological prowess.

A science prodigy

Born to Telugu immigrants from Andhra Pradesh, Sirihaasa has always been the top student in her class. While she was always inspired by her software engineer parents, it was a school friend, who first introduced the young student to computer science and she was immediately enthralled by the subject. However, a disheartening reality came into focus for a young visionary, making her aware of the major lack of support for girls who wanted to learn to code.

Thank you @NCWITAIC and @BankofAmerica for an amazing award weekend. I’m so honored to have received the national award and represent the @IllinoisCS NCWIT chapter. I’m grateful to have met so many inspiring people! A truly awesome community of women in #tech! pic.twitter.com/4A06Scthbe

— Sirihaasa Nallamothu (@sirihaasa) March 21, 2023

Not the one to give up, Sirihaasa embarked on a remarkable journey, delving deep into the intricacies of coding languages and processes. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python became her companions as she honed her skills, unveiling the boundless potential that lay within her. The young student realised the urgent need to create a programme that would empower young girls in their middle school years, inviting them to explore all facets of computer science. Teaming up with her local library, the student started a groundbreaking computer science programme.

Through the sheer force of her passion, the student undertook the role of a mentor extraordinaire, guiding her eager students along the winding path of coding. Drawing inspiration from the world around her, she orchestrated captivating coding classes, serving as a beacon of knowledge, and illuminating the minds of these young girls. But her impact extended far beyond the confines of the classroom. Interestingly, her programme didn't just impact the other girls, but also their parents, who joined her classes eventually.

The Dream Code Project

In 2021, Sirihaasa started another programming course - the Dream Code Project - teaching girls in grades 5-11 across the country Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Java. Aiming to simplify complicated programming languages into easy-to-understand simple lessons, the young student met with the participants once a week for around one-and-a-half to two hours. "I encouraged the girls to reach out to me even after the programme session ended," shares the student, adding, "They asked me various computer science questions and code bugs/errors."

Eventually, the student managed to expand the community and impart the invaluable knowledge of coding to more than 250 young girls, fostering an enriching environment that sparks their intellectual growth. The community also organised bonding sessions, where the participants shared their stories, hobbies, interests, and more. Sirihaasa also exposes girls to role models in STEAM through the Sisterhood Spotlight, so they can see trailblazers in STEM. The youngster received the prestigious Get Involved Award for her initiatives in 2021.

Sirihaasa started researching the POTS in 2022, and after doing substantial research was able to write a Python script to extract the 15-minute window signal data of heart rate, blood volumetric pressure, EDA, temperature, and accelerometer data. According to the Cutler-Bell Prize statement, the young student's research, "is providing a starting point for future research into real-time prediction and integration into a smartwatch, which will help millions who experience vasovagal syncope research a safe and comfortable position before fainting." After finishing her project, Sirihaasa plans to work toward creating a consumer product and pairing her algorithm with a smartwatch.

Follow Sirihaasa Nallamothu on LinkedIn and GitHub