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. Might we’ve prevented it? Maybe not, however ever since, I’ve been deeply troubled every 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 number of years in the past. Each grandmothers, attributable to their age and well being situations, face an elevated threat of falling.
Each Class 12 college students from Mumbai, enthusiastic about robotics, electronics, and coding, utilized their information to develop an modern strolling stick geared toward stopping falls — a typical concern among the many aged and people with situations like osteoporosis.
They saved brainstorming and located the right alternative to convey their answer to life throughout a STEM competitors in 2022. They requested themselves: “Might we create a preventative instrument that will anticipate the chance of falls and alert caregivers in time?”
Over the course of two years, the 18-year-olds devoted themselves to creating 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) expertise they honed at Omotec (On My Personal Expertise).
Rahi and Hriday have received 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 acquired a fillip when their college, 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 accomplished varied programs in robotics, coding, electronics and STEM.
“We began with primary Lego robots to creating industrial merchandise. We’ve been studying about electronics and coding, and taking part in varied nationwide competitions the place we are able to use our information 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 have been challenged to create a working prototype for a subject they selected.
“There have been no limits to what we might create. We wished to construct one thing that will be genuinely helpful to our households. Since each of our grandmothers had mobility points, we centered on creating an answer for elders like them to assist forestall falls. If we had recognized about her situation earlier, we would have been capable of deal with it extra successfully,” shares Hriday.
These experiences ignited the scholars’ need to create a tool that might supply early detection of mobility points, doubtlessly stopping extreme well being issues down the road. Intense brainstorming classes adopted, the place wheelchairs, strolling sticks and extra have been mentioned. “Ought to or not it’s a foldable strolling stick, a single cane?” they thought.
Initially, they centered on making a stick that will analyse falls and supply a analysis. Nevertheless, prohibitive prices compelled them to rethink their strategy. Since most seniors with gait points already use a strolling stick, they determined to develop a system that might be simply connected 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 following two years, they went by way of three prototypes and designs earlier than developing with their closing retrofitted mannequin in January 2024.
A World Well being Organisation (WHO) report states that falls are the second main explanation for unintentional harm deaths worldwide. It states that adults older than 60 years of age endure the best variety of deadly falls and 37.3 million falls yearly require medical consideration.
Walkfit goals to be a preventive technique for this large drawback. The duo labored with physiotherapists to know the biomechanics of falls.
Dr Meghavi Desai Bhuptani, one of many physiotherapists who helped the scholars, says that the gadget could be very useful for individuals who lack stability. “Osteoarthritis, brought on attributable to put on and tear of your joints units in after an age for nearly everybody. We are likely to advocate assistive gadgets for a lot of such individuals put up 70 or so to cope with imbalance. The mapping accomplished by Walkfit may also help customers enhance their gait and stop falls. It’ll even be very helpful for individuals who have suffered a stroke or have Parkinson’s illness,” she says.
Stopping falls by way 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 consumer’s dependency on it. It could actually assist diagnose potential well being points primarily based on the stress patterns detected.
“By analysing stress values, we assess how dependent the consumer is on the stick. A excessive stage of dependence signifies a larger threat of falling. We measure how a lot of the consumer’s weight is being supported by the stick; primarily based on that, we predict the probability of a fall and assist diagnose potential issues or underlying situations,” explains Rahi.
The circuit, outfitted with Bluetooth modules, transmits knowledge to a laptop computer, producing real-time warmth maps. These warmth maps truly present which stress factors on the stick are bearing probably the most weight, giving an perception into what the issue might be, or what the probabilities of fall could be.
These warmth maps visually symbolize 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 aspect, there’s a likelihood that the consumer has an issue with the appropriate knee or ankle. “Typically, when you could have an issue, you are likely to put much less weight on that space, in order that it pains much less. You tilt extra in direction of the alternative aspect, and therefore the left aspect, 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 gadget 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 Drive Delicate Resistors (FSR) and gyro sensors generate a warmth map, which makes use of the weight-bearing tendencies of a consumer which differs based on age and sickness. “The connected circuit provides knowledge to measure motion. It reads the quantity of stress attributable to weight-bearing capability and discretional tilt primarily based on private parameters already entered. Primarily based on this info, the gadget provides 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 gadget to an app. In a day and age when most seniors keep alone, it could be helpful to alert their youngsters or caregivers who keep distant by detecting issues early. It additionally has makes use of for medical doctors to observe sufferers with recognized mobility points. The gadget can monitor a affected person’s situation, offering insights into their threat 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 dwelling in previous age houses. 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 received the Worldwide Judges Alternative award.
The gadget might be priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000, a lot lesser than present diagnostic instruments.
For these younger innovators, the challenge is not only about innovation — it’s about making a tangible distinction in individuals’s lives. They wish to forestall different grandparents from going through the problems as theirs did.
Edited by Pranita Bhat, Photos Courtesy Rahi Shah
