Tag: World Health Organization

Alumni Innovate COVID-19 Health Technologies

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The cases of infections and deaths related to COVID-19 in India are increasing by leaps and bounds. While it took about 2 months to reach the first 1000 cases, it increased to 2000 just within 5 days, then with every 3 days the count has been increasing by 1000, and now the frequency of that occurrence has reduced to a day. Today the COVID+ cases have crossed 8000. Though experts concur that the lockdown has checked the spread of the disease till now to a considerable extent, the need for eHealth technologies is crucial in a country with a billion+ people under home quarantine. Four alumni starts-ups from IIT Kharagpur have developed technologies to offer assistance towards surveillance, mass-scale sanitization and automatization of  dissemination of official information related to novel coronavirus.

Surveillance

Innovaccer, a data-driven healthcare technology start-up co-founded by Abhinav Shashank and Kanav Hasija from 2010 batch, has has launched a self-assessment based app to screen for COVID-19 patients. The self-assessment test asks users to fill in a survey based on their symptoms. It also provides coronavirus-related updates to citizens in the region.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a serious challenge to current healthcare infrastructure. While our providers are tirelessly treating thousands of patients every day, we want to help them in this global health crisis by expanding their reach. To help the government, healthcare organizations and all frontline healthcare workers care as one, we are launching COVID-19 Management System to enable virtual care,” says Abhinav Shashank, CEO of Innovaccer.

Health authorities of Goa and Puducherry have tied up with Innovaccer to curb the spread of novel CoronaVirus pandemic with the Automated Self-evaluation Assessment to Identify At-Risk Patients for COVID-19.

In another such initiative, Intugine, co-founded by IIT Kharagpur alumni Harshit Shrivastava (2016 batch) and Ayush Agrawal (2018 batch), is using their flagship product ‘Mobile Number Location Tracking’ to monitor huge number of home-quarantined individuals and ensure they follow social distancing. The Kgpians claim that their location intelligence platform, which is based on cell triangulation technology, can work on SMS-based user content without installing any application, i.e. even on basic phones, which makes it easy to implement. 

The company has recently announced that this solution can enable effective crowd monitoring of quarantined cases in a least intrusive and scalable manner, on a single dashboard with a central control tower, reducing the pressure on the ground teams to visit each location and ensure adherence.

“Our logistics platform fits seamlessly in providing a solution to the coronavirus monitoring. Upon understanding it better, we quickly tweaked our platform by conducting a pilot in a handful of districts to check the feasibility,” says Ayush Agrawal.

He confirmed getting positive response as well in detecting the breaches of home quarantined cases and reaching out to appropriate authorities who can put the platform to use for surveillance.

Mass-scale Sanitisation and Sterilization

While surveillance of the population is critical, a significant section of the population engaged in essential services are required to regularly access public spaces. Alumnus Debayan Saha collaboratively developed Airlens Minus Corona, a device which may help sanitise large areas. The innovators claim that the product might be able to address the challenge by using charged water droplets which are ionised using the viral discharge.

“Alcohols (like ethanol or IPA) are known to inactivate viruses by denaturing their protein coat. But the alcohol-based hand sanitiser is useful for individuals or for sanitising surfaces at a smaller scale (home, offices, etc.) in the fight against coronavirus. However, this is insufficient in such an emergency as it is impractical to use alcohol for sanitising cities,” said Saha.

The device is designed to look like Robo Sapien (human-like) machine that operates on the mechanism of charged water droplets which are ionised using the corona discharge. The ionised water in return oxidises the viral protein reducing it to a non-harmful molecule, opined the innovators. The innovators are hoping to reach out to organisations and government bodies for large scale application.

Bot

While media is reporting on health status, government announcements related to COVID-19, people may have queries regarding the lifestyle to follow beyond social distancing and hygiene guidelines. Apollonius Voicebot developed by alumnus Souva Majumder is addressing such queries. People can record their queries on the platform denguebot.in which are answered by an AI application. The bot has integrated information provided by the World Health Organization, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India, and My Gov platform.

COVID-19 has reaffirmed the need for technology based hygiene and healthcare, which may not fade away with the situation normalising but rather lead to a future which cause less damage from pandemic, which may not require global lockdown.

This article only shares information about technological innovations by the alumni and is neither an endorsement nor can be used as a statement of validation  for the above mentioned interventions.

If you are alumni, faculty or student of IIT Kharagpur and working in the following areas, please share your story on media@iitkgp.ac.in.

  • Personal protective equipment,
  • Surveillance,
  • Sanitization,
  • Testing kit,
  • Development of medical equipment, bots,
  • Pharmacological or non-pharmacological treatment,
  • Data analytics and AI to model epidemic patterns and disease dynamics

Protecting the Protectors

Making Face Shields for Healthcare Workers During Lockdown

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Professor Santanu Dhara and Professor Sangeeta Das Bhattacharya, researchers at the School of Medical Science and Technology at IIT Kharagpur have made a prototype to make face shields for healthcare workers from home during the lockdown. The face shield is an essential part of the personal protective equipment (PPE) required for healthcare workers taking care of patients with suspected COVID-19.

The basic PPE for healthcare workers include respirator or face masks, eye protection including goggles and face shields, gloves and gowns. The face shield is a transparent plastic protective cover, attached to an elastic head gear. It  protects the face from splashes. There is a shortage of all PPE for healthcare workers globally.

Professor Santanu Dhara and Professor Sangeeta Das Bhattacharya have designed a face shield using materials which can be procured even under the nation-wide lockdown. The items include transparency sheet, sponge, folded paper, cardboard or packaging box, elastic, or rubber band, and double-sided tape. A team from the School of Medical Science and Technology  produced 14 such face shields in 2 hours and are in the process of making more, while remotely working from their homes.

“At a time when the demand for protective wears has escalated sharply, we have to improvise products using easily sourced materials and simple process to offer some sort of protection for the health workers,” remarked Prof. Santanu Dhara.

Download DIY Video

“It is essential to get personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and the faceshield is just one part. We are contributing in a small way, these have not been rigorously tested,” said Prof. Sangeeta Das Bhattacharya. 

Face shields like other medical equipment require testing and certification. These are desperate times. There is a dire shortage of PPE globally and health care workers have taken to crowdsourcing. The hashtag #GetMePPE is trending across social media.  

Download DIY Video

 

Disclaimer: This release is made in the public interest.  Items described herein are only prototypes and caution is warranted during the DIY procedure. Every medical product and equipment requires testing and certification by appropriate authorities before use. 

Get COVID Advisory in Your Language

IIT Kharagpur Students Joins India’s Fight Against CoronaVirus by Translating WHO Health Advisory

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As the world is battling CoronaVirus, IIT Kharagpur is exhibiting its unique creative energy and cautious optimism at this crucial time, demanding our endurance and responsible behaviour. The Institute and its stakeholders on the campus are contributing through a wide range of initiatives, from helping students with their academic coursework to increasing public awareness about COVID19, to creating hygiene resources and meaningful online engagements. In one such initiative, Vision Prabaho, a students group known for its environmental activities on the campus has taken up the responsibility to help common people understand the precautionary advisory issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) to counter COVID-19. 

The students have translated the WHO advisory in 15 Indian languages Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Manipuri, Maithili, Naga, Odiya, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.

Regional language advisory would make communication even in the remotest part of the communication convenient avoiding misinformation.

“Linguistic diversity in spreading the government and WHO advisory was much needed especially on digital media which is accessed by an astounding billion plus Indians. We thought it would be imperative to help increase the reach through messages in vernacular languages,” said Biswaroop Mondal, a student member.

Initially the Vision Prabaho translated the message in Bengali for the local people. However, on watching the video on YouTube other students from IIT  Kharagpur came forward to translate the message in their mother tongues. Within a day videos were produced in five different languages and in another two days the count reached 12.

The students recorded the script with a smartphone and sent it to Vision Prabaho which they incorporated as voice over to the WHO video again using smartphone app and available software. 

The twenty-member student group from IIT Kharagpur even found a special mention in a social media post by Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology, for their noble initiative which can benefit billions of Indians.

“We are trying to incorporate more editions of the video in other regional languages by reaching out a diverse linguistic group and resources to translate the video in languages such as Maithili, Alchiki, Nagamese, Kokborok and more,” said a student member.

The students are also working towards developing interesting creatives on Do’s and Dont’s in regional languages. A key initiative the team is working on is to develop Do-It-Yourself instructions for making hygiene kits such as masks and hand sanitizers.

Recently, a group of researchers at IIT Kharagpur’s School of Medical Science & Technology have also developed alcohol based hand sanitizer following guidelines recommended by WHO for use by emergency and essential staff on campus. The Institute has also ordered for masks designed by the healthcare authorities of the campus and made locally.

Combating COVID

IIT Kharagpur’s Combat against COVID19

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As the world is battling CoronaVirus, universities suspending their academic and select other activities, in one corner of Eastern India, the world renowned institute is giving fillip to the combat against COVID-19. The oldest and largest IIT and its stakeholders on the campus are contributing through a wide range of initiatives to continue helping students with their course work, increase public awareness about CoronaVirus pandemic and create resources to boost health and hygiene. Whether they be at the laboratories creating much needed solutions or socially distanced students seeking meaningful engagement or faculty and staff exploring alternate mode of teaching and learning, IIT Kharagpur is exhibiting its unique creative energy and cautious optimism at this crucial time demanding our endurance and responsible behaviour.

Health Outreach Projects

Recently Vision Prabaho, a twenty-member student group from IIT Kharagpur, found special mention in the social media post by Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology. The group had translated the precautionary advisory issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) in eleven Indian languages.

Biswaroop Mondal, one of the students from the group said, “An astounding billion plus people are conversing in regional languages. We thought it would be imperative to help increase the reach through messages in vernacular languages. We have translated the advisory issued by WHO in Assamese, Bengali, Odiya, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kashmiri and Hindi. We are trying to incorporate more editions of the video in other regional languages.”

In another initiative, four researchers are carrying out a study titled  ‘Travel During COVID-19 Outbreak: Behaviour, Impact, and Interventions’ to increase public awareness and perceptions about travel and social distancing. They are collecting public inputs to understand diverse insights and create a sense of preparedness. The researchers include Dr. Saurabh Dandapat, Dr. Kinjal Bhattacharyya, Annam Sai Kiran and Kaustubh Saysardar.

Hygiene Facilitation

Further to this, a research group is also working towards developing a hand sanitizing solution independently following WHO guidelines. The Transport section of the Institute has also prepared a hand sanitizer for internal use and hygiene. Read More

“The campus hospital is also exploring the procurement of washable masks designed and manufactured locally to ensure safety during unavoidable social and limited professional interactions. The administrators have been practicing social distancing themselves and encouraging the practice among the staff and students,” said Director Prof. Virendra Kumar Tewari. 

Alternative Academics

It may be mentioned in this regard that restricted travel and social distancing have been repeatedly advised by healthcare practitioners and has been a key component in the address by the Prime Minister on March 19. But the social distancing goes beyond health and hygiene.

“While academic activities remain suspended until March 31, students are being facilitated through existing and newly acquired e-learning platforms,” added Prof. Tewari.

The Institute already offers a wide range of course lectures on digital platforms such as MOOCs, Swayam, and DTH platform Swayam Prabha. Students can access these with a high-speed internet connection from anywhere in the world.

“Since the pronouncement of the suspension of classes, the Center for Education Technology has acquired a large number of WebEx licenses from CISCO for conducting classes from 2nd-year undergraduate courses upto postgraduate level. First-year classes are being conducted through YouTube Live. More than 40 faculty members are already taking classes using these e-learning facilities. We are further discussing with Zoom to facilitate interactive online teaching,” said Shib Sankar Das from the Centre. 

Prof. Jeevanjyoti Chakraborty who recently conducted a lecture on Mechanics reported more than 1500 viewers for his lecture on YouTube of which 450 were live viewers.

Talking about his experience Prof. Chakraborty said, “the teaching community is new to managing technicalities while recording lectures. The e-learning which we have been using until now was done at studios and there is technical staff to work through the logistics. The Institute’s stepping up the YouTube Live facility has enabled the faculty to concentrate on the teaching part instead of being concerned with the technical aspects of recording and streaming.”

He also mulled over the flipped classroom and active learning strategies wherein students can listen to recording course lectures prior to the scheduled online class and interact more regarding their queries on the topic.

Virtual Campus Outreach

In a novel initiative to give the mind rest from the flow of news and discussions regarding COVID19, the students of IIT Kharagpur and those studying in schools on the campus are being encouraged to engage creatively especially the occasion of Earth Day which is scheduled on April 22. The Govt. of India has been actively promoting it for the past few years. The Branding and Communications Cell under the aegis of the Dean International Relations, IIT Kharagpur has launched an online competition and exhibition (Drawing/Painting, Poster, Photo Story and Video) in electronic mode, extensively using social media platforms to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Earth Day. While the themes would primarily include Climate Change, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, Pollution, Biodiversity, it would also include themes such as Disaster Management, Hygiene & Cleanliness. (Click Here to Know More)

“The Institute is gearing up for a digitized celebration of Earth Day which is scheduled on April 22 with the optimism of a better tomorrow,” remarked Director Tewari. 

“We are among the first in India to strategize an online celebration of Earth Day which is otherwise marked with large public gatherings, environmental events and activism,” stated a staff member. 

Gearing Up for March 22

The Institute is also gearing up for the moment of gratitude and solidarity with those sections of the community who have been serving the campus diligently during the COVID pandemic.

Following the message of PM Narendra Modi, Director Tewari confirmed that the community will take part in the solidarity clap with the staff engaged in essential services such as healthcare, security, hostel mess, sanitation, electricity etc. along with the defenders of the nation on these fronts.