WHAT are the majority of Indians working abroad worried about the most? Obviously, their parent’s health back in India! Rajendra Sadhu, founder of Vyzin Electronics was also going through similar emotional dilemma. Whenever his parents had health issues, Rajendra had to rush back to India to look after them. He was worried that medical emergency can strike anytime, hence was desperate for having a monitoring service or device that would help avert any medical disaster with his parents.
‘Necessity is mother of all inventions’, although a cliché, again proved right. Rajendra thought of a very innovative solution, which he later named ‘VESAG’, to remotely monitor his parents health. What’s incredible is not that Rajendra thought of this device but what’s more amazing is that no one had thought of it before.
In March 2010, Rajendra conceptualized a remote monitoring device that could be ‘worn like a watch’ and would help track the vitals of the user. Moreover, in case of an emergency, the device would also trigger an emergency response mechanism to avail immediate medical help. The concept was novel, hence, Rajendra patented it and immediately started working on building a prototype.
Rajendra has masters in IT from Vijaywada and MBA from Rutgers University, USA and worked for more than 10 years with Verizon Wireless. He got so fascinated by his remote monitoring device idea, that he decided to quit secure job and invested all his life’s savings into this project. The prototype ‘watch’ was ready within 8 months and the concept was widely appreciated.
Vesag ‘watch’ is a wearable device and works as an information gateway. It interacts with all other Vesag devices such as Oximeter, ECG, heart-rate monitor, blood pressure unit, etc. and sends health parameters using mobile technology. All the information is then integrated and uploaded to the cloud for remote health monitoring. Information can be verified by the primary care doctor remotely and can provide appropriate feedback. It can be also used as a mobile-based personal emergency response system.
In March 2011, Connected World magazine ranked ‘VESAG’ as No 1 Connected Health Devices in the world. Rajendra is also the winner of DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Award.
Now, Vesag devices are sold in over 15 countries, Rajendra says “Our solution has received phenomenal response. Every day, we receive multiple emails, especially from caregivers saying Vesag has completely transformed their lives. Our device gives mental comfort especially, to non-working women who can now step out of their house with a belief that their elderly family members are secured and monitored.” Rajendra further adds “various people have now found multiple innovative applications of VESAG systems e.g. Parents use these devices to monitor their children while some BPO employees are using Vesag as it offers them a sense of security and access to emergency services when coming home late at night.”
Encouraged by the success of VESAG watch systems, Rajendra felt that he should develop a solution especially aimed at pregnant women from remote areas as many of them have hardly any access to primary healthcare and monitoring. Hence, Rajendra conceptualized and developed a very small, portal Fetal Doppler unit intended for detecting and recording the fetal heart rate (FHR). It is applicable for use in clinics and homes, and can be conveniently operated by patients themselves. Rajendra says ‘Often, when pregnant women feel that the baby is not kicking, they visit a nearby clinic or primary doctor, who could be miles away. With our Fetal Doppler, pregnant women can check FHR even at home without visiting the doctor. As the Fetal Doppler can also be integrated with Vesag watch systems, automatic alerts can be set depending on the FHR readings. ‘My innovations are aimed at improving Rural Healthcare’
Moreover, now Vesag has also developed a ‘Fetal Care Plan’. Based on primary information, Vesag portal will calculate the trimester and deliver SMS messages to pregnant women regarding the precautions they have to take during the period of pregnancy thereby decreasing the maternal deaths and perinatal mortality.
Although, VESAG solutions are inexpensive, they might still be a bit expensive for rural Indian population. Hence, Rajendra is currently piloting a project whereby individual devices are placed at a Panchayat office or with ASHA workers to check the health of all the villagers with special emphasis on pregnant women. Rajendra says “Innovations at Vesag are aimed at improving rural healthcare. Our watch can be shared by 99,999 patients. Villagers can be given a unique ID number; they can wear the watch after entering their unique ID number. This transmits their health information to doctors and can prove a fantastic diagnostic tool when there aren’t hospitals or doctors in close vicinity. Moreover, even rural hospitals can use one set of watch and Fetal Doppler on multiple patients.” says Rajendra.
All innovation by Rajendra are now geared towards remote health monitoring, especially aimed at rural setting. His mission is to target this sector as hardly any innovations are currently happening and requires a totally different approach. Rajendra wishes to ensure that his technology benefits all sections of the society.