KOCHI: Often we hear stories of people with pacemakers who are put at a risk of serious infection owing to low battery life of the instrument. To find a permanent solution to this, a team of five girls from Sahrdaya College of Engineering and Technology, Kodakara, Thrissur, have brought out wireless charging system which ensures that pacemakers are recharged automatically.
When Jasmin Paul, Meera George, Aditi Maria Giju, Ansha Abdul Lathif and Imna Mary, all final semester EEE batch students began the project, there were many challenges. “The highlight is that the batteries can be charged without any electrical assistance and the utilisation of the battery is also very low,” said Gopakumar, principal. The students took around seven months to make this innovation working along with the support of their professor Sunil, he added.
The project ‘SAKHI’ ( Smart Assisting Kernel & Hover Interface ) deals with the wireless recharging of pace makers and other medical aids using Magnetic Resonance and Solar Panels. It helps to save both time and money as patients can avoid surgeries related to battery replacements. Just as the name indicates ,SAKHI is a true companion to all using medical aids.“This is something we came up by ourselves. We had to work and design the model in such a way that the patients don’t have to charge everytime . The coils had also to be wound very carefully. We worked for it sparing our time and finally made it,” said Aditi.
SAKHI is also designed for the use of paralysed and bedridden patients to keep their pacemakers in charge. It employs an auto or smart system which receives signals from a pulse sensor which allows it to detect any variations in the heart beat rates of the patient thus detecting drainage in pacemaker charge. SAKHI then automatically starts the recharge of the pacemaker thereby keeping it charged at all times.Besides keeping a pacemaker in charge, SAKHI also helps to keep other medical aids charged and wireless compatible.
The project ‘SAKHI’ was qualified as one among the top 20 projects from all over India, for Shaastra 2018, a technical and Innovative fair at IIT , Chennai which was held from January 4 to January 7. In the innovative fair, whole of IIT incubation centres participated and the students from Sahrdaya college was the only college from Kerala who made it to this point. “ We were asked to explain our concept from the beginning and how the whole system worked to a panel of judges in IIT, Chennai,” said Aditi. By making various components wireless compatible, SAKHI eliminates electronic waste and biomass accumulation, besides it’s humanitarian edge this innovation is sure to create ripples in the field of wireless technology.