Falls in previous age are a big concern, usually resulting in severe accidents and even changing into deadly. I skilled this firsthand when my grandfather handed away after a fall. May we have now prevented it? Maybe not, however ever since, I’ve been deeply troubled each time I hear of somebody over 60 or 70 taking a fall.
Two youngsters, Rahi Shah and Hriday Boriawala, share related worries. Rahi’s grandmother suffers from hip osteoporosis, and Hriday’s grandmother had a knee alternative a couple of years in the past. Each grandmothers, because of their age and well being circumstances, face an elevated danger of falling.
Each Class 12 college students from Mumbai, enthusiastic about robotics, electronics, and coding, utilized their data to develop an revolutionary strolling stick aimed toward stopping falls — a standard concern among the many aged and people with circumstances like osteoporosis.
They stored brainstorming and located the right alternative to carry their resolution to life throughout a STEM competitors in 2022. They requested themselves: “May we create a preventative instrument that might anticipate the chance of falls and alert caregivers in time?”
Over the course of two years, the 18-year-olds devoted themselves to growing Walkfit — a system that attaches to a strolling stick to help with gait evaluation and diagnose decrease limb orthopaedic problems. The youngsters utilised robotics, synthetic intelligence (AI), and machine studying (ML) abilities they honed at Omotec (On My Personal Expertise).
Rahi and Hriday have gained many accolades, rising as runner-ups on the IIT Bombay Techfest and securing a provisional patent for his or her innovation.
Right here’s how Walkfit may also help elders with mobility points.
From Lego to actual robots
Rahi and Hriday’s curiosity in robotics obtained a fillip when their faculty, Podar Worldwide, began a robotics lab in 2019. Then simply 12, the duo participated in a contest, that cemented their ardour for the topic. To additional their curiosity, they joined Omotec and did a course in Python, a programming language. Over the previous 5 years, they’ve carried out numerous programs in robotics, coding, electronics and STEM.
“We began with fundamental Lego robots to creating industrial merchandise. We’ve been studying about electronics and coding, and collaborating in numerous nationwide competitions the place we are able to use our data virtually,” Rahi tells The Higher India.
The IRIS (Initiative for Analysis and Innovation in STEM) Nationwide Honest was the proverbial recreation changer for these younger innovators. After enrolling for a similar in 2022, they had been challenged to create a working prototype for a subject they selected.
“There have been no limits to what we might create. We needed to construct one thing that might be genuinely helpful to our households. Since each of our grandmothers had mobility points, we targeted on growing an answer for elders like them to assist forestall falls. If we had identified about her situation earlier, we would have been in a position to tackle it extra successfully,” shares Hriday.
These experiences ignited the scholars’ need to create a tool that would provide early detection of mobility points, doubtlessly stopping extreme well being problems down the road. Intense brainstorming periods adopted, the place wheelchairs, strolling sticks and extra had been mentioned. “Ought to or not it’s a foldable strolling stick, a single cane?” they thought.
Initially, they targeted on making a stick that might analyse falls and supply a analysis. Nevertheless, prohibitive prices compelled them to rethink their method. Since most seniors with gait points already use a strolling stick, they determined to develop a system that may very well be simply hooked up to any present one.
“The product is a circuit, an attachment that may be fitted onto any stick,” says Rahi. They spent about three months on analysis and designing their circuit with the assistance of their mentors at Omotec. Over the subsequent two years, they went by means of three prototypes and designs earlier than arising with their last retrofitted mannequin in January 2024.
A World Well being Organisation (WHO) report states that falls are the second main reason for unintentional damage deaths worldwide. It states that adults older than 60 years of age undergo the best variety of deadly falls and 37.3 million falls yearly require medical consideration.
Walkfit goals to be a preventive technique for this huge downside. The duo labored with physiotherapists to grasp the biomechanics of falls.
Dr Meghavi Desai Bhuptani, one of many physiotherapists who helped the scholars, says that the system might be very useful for individuals who lack stability. “Osteoarthritis, induced because of put on and tear of your joints units in after an age for nearly everybody. We are likely to advocate assistive units for a lot of such folks put up 70 or so to cope with imbalance. The mapping carried out by Walkfit may also help customers enhance their gait and stop falls. It is going to even be very helpful for individuals who have suffered a stroke or have Parkinson’s illness,” she says.
Stopping falls by means of tech
Walkfit comes with six stress sensors, that are strategically positioned on the stick, with two on the grip and 4 on the bottom. The system analyses the stress exerted on the stick, permitting it to find out the person’s dependency on it. It will probably assist diagnose potential well being points primarily based on the stress patterns detected.
“By analysing stress values, we assess how dependent the person is on the stick. A excessive stage of dependence signifies a better danger of falling. We measure how a lot of the person’s weight is being supported by the stick; primarily based on that, we predict the chance of a fall and assist diagnose potential issues or underlying circumstances,” explains Rahi.
The circuit, outfitted with Bluetooth modules, transmits knowledge to a laptop computer, producing real-time warmth maps. These warmth maps really present which stress factors on the stick are bearing probably the most weight, giving an perception into what the issue may very well be, or what the probabilities of fall might be.
These warmth maps visually characterize stress factors, with blue indicating low stress and purple indicating excessive stress.
Giving an instance, the scholars say that if the map exhibits excessive stress on the left facet, there’s a chance that the person has an issue with the correct knee or ankle. “Usually, when you’ve an issue, you are likely to put much less weight on that space, in order that it pains much less. You tilt extra in the direction of the alternative facet, and therefore the left facet, which exhibits the very best stress,” they clarify.
The scholars plan to develop a cell app sooner or later to make this knowledge extra accessible to customers. “Many elders have decrease physique points like osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, buckling knees, and hip fractures. Our system can predict falls in each standing and sitting positions. It detects stability in an individual’s gait and adjustments in steadiness,” says Hriday.
The values from the Power Delicate Resistors (FSR) and gyro sensors generate a warmth map, which makes use of the weight-bearing tendencies of a person which differs in response to age and sickness. “The hooked up circuit offers knowledge to measure motion. It reads the quantity of stress because of weight-bearing capability and discretional tilt primarily based on private parameters already entered. Primarily based on this info, the system offers an early sign to forestall falls,” explains Reetu Jain, chief-mentor and founding father of Omotec.
The scholars now hope to fine-tune their invention and join the system to an app. In a day and age when most seniors keep alone, it could be helpful to alert their kids or caregivers who keep distant by detecting issues early. It additionally has makes use of for docs to watch sufferers with identified mobility points. The system can monitor a affected person’s situation, offering insights into their danger of falling and the effectiveness of their present therapy.
Rahi and Hriday first examined the prototype on their grandparents, put up which they examined it on 50 senior residents residing in previous age properties. The physiotherapists validated their outcomes.
Their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed — they certified for the the IIT Tech Fest, IRIS Nationwide Honest, and the World STEM and Robotics Olympiad (WSRO) the place they gained the Worldwide Judges Selection award.
The system will likely be priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000, a lot lesser than present diagnostic instruments.
For these younger innovators, the undertaking isn’t just about innovation — it’s about making a tangible distinction in folks’s lives. They wish to forestall different grandparents from going through the problems as theirs did.
Edited by Pranita Bhat, Photographs Courtesy Rahi Shah
