In cricket matches, umpires would earlier make the call about whether it was the player’s leg that had touched the ball, or the bat. Now, the snickometer does this job. This makes the decision clearer and more objective, explains Dr (Maj) Satish Somayya Jeevannavar.
“A similar concept comes into play when we speak of the AI Stethoscope, in that it produces objective reports, eliminating any room for human error,” he notes.
Dr Satish is the founder and CEO of Ai Health Highway India, a medtech startup that has innovated such a stethoscope, named AiSteth. This device aims to reduce the burden on healthcare workers in villages and remote India by efficiently analysing patients’ heart and lung sounds and translating them into readable records that can then be interpreted by professionals.
The idea first came to Dr Satish while he was associated with the Indian Army as a Short Service Officer between 2003 and 2008.
A goal that will affect millions
“After working in primary health care for many years and coming from a family of medical professionals, I realised that most people believe that health care is only provided in hospitals. But this was the thing I wanted to alter. I wanted to think of some kind of invention that would stop individuals from feeling the need to check into a hospital until it was absolutely required,” the man claims.
After completing his military service, Dr. Satish continued his education by enrolling in an executive MBA programme at IIM Bangalore in order to better grasp the intricacies of the business side of medicine and how a medical startup might develop.
Dr. Radhakrishna, who specialised in clinical research and public health, and Ashwin Chandrasekaran, who has experience in international business management and operations, quickly joined him.
The triumvirate was prepared to provide India’s populace with the quality medical treatment it deserved while also making sure that it was both easily available and reasonably priced. While Dr. Satish left his position as a senior director in a corporation to focus on expanding AiSteth, the other two also contributed their knowledge to get the innovation to where it is now.
Making an intelligent stethoscope
According to Dr. Satish, it is crucial to comprehend the nation’s medical data before attempting to comprehend how the digital stethoscope can revolutionise the practise of medicine.
We discovered that India has 4,000 cardiologists and 1.3 billion people from our research and observations. Rural India suffers while urban residents have access to specialised care. Although we are aware of the issue, the remedy is not practical. Every one of India’s seven lakh villages could not have a cardiologist, according to him.
He adds that lives are lost as a result of this.
“Cardio-respiratory disorders, which are the biggest contributors to non-communicable disorders (NCDs), are rampant in people between the ages of 30 and 65. This is concerning as this age group is the most productive. The death of a person belonging to this group translates to an entire family being left helpless.”
Taking these factors into consideration, the team decided to come up with a solution that could reach the masses.
But why the stethoscope?
“Whenever one speaks of a doctor, the first thing that comes to their mind is a stethoscope. It is readily available with every doctor and we figured if the innovation is on the most widely used tool, it wouldn’t need a drastic acceptance of new technology,” says Dr Satish.
