CardioM
The solution will be an app which lets financially deprived people measure their heart rate using a smartphone's in-built microphone.
- The microphone records the amplitude of the heart activity
- The algorithm cancels out ambient noise
- Heart beats are counted and the heart rate (BPM) is calculated using the formula below
4. The heart rate is displayed to the user.
The microphone of the smartphone records the amplitude (in decibels) of the heart beats (systole+dyastole). The app will let people measure their heart rate and the rhythm. It incorporates pre existing hardware inside a smartphone which is owned by about 748 million people in India out of 1.28 Billion people.
The lack of devices such as pulse oximeters and heart rate monitors available to people, causes high number undiagnosed patients suffering from bradycardia, tachycardia and such heart-related diseases.
Considering the population of India, the target group is wide enough to accommodate the majority of the population.
This problem is primarily caused by the relatively high price tag of such devices which doesn't appeal to the large population of India. It may also have occurred due to the lack of awareness in the masses about heart illness and diagnosis. If left undiagnosed, the people who don't have access to ECG devices, will not be able to diagnose until the symptoms of the heart illness are noticeable.
Since the population of India has a great number of people who own a smartphone, the access to my app will be readily available.
The app will be free for everyone on the app store or the Google play store so that people will not think twice before purchasing it. .
"https://data.worldbank.org/ind..." Population of India
"www.statista.com/statistics/46..." Smartphone users in India
"www.apollohospitals.com/patien..." Arrhythmia
The target group for this solution is primarily those, who have access to a smartphone which has an in-built microphone. The target group is currently at a relative disadvantage due to the disparity in healthcare access simply because of their financial condition and the lack of health awareness in society.
Such people are common because diagnosis using devices is costly and majorly limited to the people living in cities who are financially sound and can afford better healthcare in private hospitals
The solution makes use of the common tool that is already present in the hands of many people in this country. The smartphone consists of a built-in condenser microphone which will be used to record their heart rhythm, and measure their heart rate.
This will help the target user diagnose the illness quicker and it will also eliminate the need of shelling out extra money to purchase an ECG device such as a pulse oximeter. The solution is affordable and is simply a click away from saving lives and money.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_India#Private_healthcare
I have conducted extensive primary research by reaching out to government operated hospitals in village in my vicinity along with verbal feedback from doctors, who have helped in shaping the concept of CardioM app.
Since I am following a UCD (User-centered design) approach, I have incorporated user feedback onto each stage of the development of the app.
This ensures the comfort and the reliability of the app in producing precise results. I have been collaborating with an app developer to create CardioM's first prototype along with numerous revisions.
Currently, due to COVID-19 restrictions in India and the increasing rate of COVID-19 cases, the development of this app is at a halt. The first prototype of this app will be available at the earliest. The app is also monitored by doctors who assess the reliability of the results that are generated.
I have volunteered to work on the issue on this problem, to raise awareness and potentially impact millions of people in India by reducing disparities in accessing healthcare.
- Improving healthcare access and health outcomes; and reducing and ultimately eliminating health disparities (Health)
- Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model
The name "CardioM" is an amalgam of "Cor" (Latin word for heart) and "Om" which is a Hindu chant, often used in yoga to calm the mind and the body.
Since the concept has been revised and developed numerous times, I proceeded to start the development of the prototype of CardioM app, which is a functional model of the final application.
Since COVID-19 has severely delayed the development of the prototype, The prototype will be completed and tested soon.
My friend is an app developer by profession, and he has been helping me out in shaping the concept of CardioM into a real app by integrating his expertise with constant feedback from doctors. His support has been invaluable in terms of coding. As I am not fluent with coding languages nor I have the extensive expertise of creating apps like him.
- A new use of an existing technology (e.g. application to a new problem or in a new location)
The solution consists of a variety of technologies that have been incorporated into it. The app makes use of the built-in microphone of the smartphone of the user and AI, which reduces the ambient noise thus helping the algorithm in counting heart rate.
The application is entirely digital and is going to be free of cost and available to all people who have access to a smartphone.
The application is based on an ancient method of measuring heart rate which is called PCG [Phono cardiogram]. The method involves the use of a microphone which used to convert analog signals of sound into amplitude (dB) and then, displaying it onto a graph of Intensity vs. Time
This method was discontinued because better alternatives were starting to be more available such as ECG [Electro cardiogram] which makes use of infra-red beams and lasers to measure differences in an artery and calculate the heart rate.
My application is incorporating the ancient method of calculating heart rate into the new hardware which is already built into our smartphones, which will be put together into a ready available app.
https://www.ekohealth.com/learning/phonocardiogram-pcg-the-cinderella-of-cardiac-diagnostics
- Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning
- Imaging and Sensor Technology
- Software and Mobile Applications
- India
Since the solution is still in the development phase, We have not yet come up the prototype yet. COVID-19 has halted the development for a brief period of time. Once restrictions are lifted, I will be able to contact de developer and resume the development of the app which will be completed in fall 2022.
The number of people we aim to serve by 2023 is 1000. We would be testing the app with a large sample space of 1000 patients by co-ordinating with government hospitals and working upon the feedback given to us by medical professionals.
Over 2 billion people globally are left behind because they have no access to stable home internet according to a new joint report from UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
This means over 2 billion people are faced with the problem of poor internet connection globally.
This results in 90% of online learners abandoning their courses and not completing them - thereby resulting from low talent quality in the workforce.
CardioM is an app that lets people who cannot afford a heart rate monitoring device, to measure their heart beat and rhythm by utilising the existing hardware on their smartphone. Our goal is to reduce the disparities related to medical diagnosis in heart-related diseases by doing so.
The app detects the heartbeat by filtering out ambient noise and picking the beats of the heart and then, counting the beats to accurately calculate the heart rate.
CardioM app has three main goals:
- Produce accurate results of Heart rate, Cardiac rhythm
- Create awareness by informing the user of the app about heart illness
- Reporting abnormalities by recommending the user to go and see a doctor.
The progress of this solution is indicated by the stage at which the solution is at. As of January of 2022, The solution is at the prototype stage.
The impact of COVID-19 has delayed the development of the prototype, and has made useful communication between the team members, hard.
As internet is unreliable and weak in the area of the other team member, He is facing technical difficulties.
We strive to reduce disparities in healthcare access as we talked about it earlier.
Another way to measure the impact of our solution is by measuring the number of lives we have positively affected using this solution.
There are many barriers that hinder the development of the CardioM app.
- Technical
Since the development of this app is majorly supported by the expertise of 1 developer, He finds the technicalities of the app hard to tackle on his own.
He would like to ease the pressure on him by having the development of this app available to other developers who would be interested and capable of working with him in a team, so that the the app can be deployed at the earliest.
2.Financial
The cost of hiring a professional developer is high as I am still a high school student in a 3rd world country. I have no source of income as a student which is holding me back from employing professional developers to create this app.
Our team comes members come from a diverse background.
The team lead has been a involved in numerous projects such as the Khanacademy Junior challenge, which made him an important asset to the team. His scientific knowledge and connections to academia has been proven to be useful in the development of the CardioM's prototype as he helped bridge the gap between a concept and a working prototype.
The secondary team member lives in a town named Gaya, in India.
His support and contributions to the team has been invaluable as he provided useful data and advice to the team lead.
As he has lived in a rural area himself, he was able to connect to the target user and simulate the actual usage of the app.
Our team is in contact with a developer who is committed to the development of this app however, he requires financial support to continue to do so. His technical expertise with coding has been the backbone for this project. Once we can secure funding and support, we will be able to polish the app and increase it's accuracy greatly.
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