JAGATSINGHPUR: Artificial Intelligence (AI) brings many ideas to the average mind. Fifteen-year-old Abhilipsa Bhol could think of a machine for disease screening in rural areas to cut down on mortality.
The Class X student of Government High School, Allipingal who has been selected for Phase 2 of Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Youth programme, has on her mind an ATM-type kiosk which can self-detect diseases and send the patient to the right doctor.
The Responsible AI for Youth programme is jointly organized by Electronics, Information Technology Ministry of India and Intel. Abhilipsa is among eight Odia students whose projects made it to the best 100 at national level competition.
The kiosk project of Abhilipsa envisages a machine which can be installed in rural areas. All that a person has to do is key in symptoms of the diseases into the machine.
If the person is uneducated and cannot write, he/she can tap the speaker and say out loud the symptoms. The machine will read the information, detect the disease and then direct the patient to the hospital and doctors too.
The Class X student’s keen socio-economic understanding of the rural setting drives the project - that villagers living in remote areas are afflicted by many diseases but have little awareness due to lack of information and illiteracy.
“I was shocked by death of too many people due to lack of awareness about diseases and access to doctors which is why I highlighted the problem of common man and suggested installing self-detection machine in remote areas. Besides, detection of diseases, the machine will also prescribe doctors for treatment. This process would check mortality,” she says.
Abhlipsa who wants to be a scientist says the project envisages features in the kiosk which will have details of diseases, symptoms, date and locations of all doctors stored. It can interact in multiple languages and have global position system too. The government can install such self-detection machines in remote villages, she says.
Earlier, she was selected for Inspire Award by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India for a prototype of an automatic dish washing machine with help of his mentor Padaraj Umakant Nayak, who also her science teacher.
“It is a national programme for all government schools of the country in which Abhilipsa was selected among the best 100. In Phase II, the selected students will be imparted training and their ideas converted into working prototypes. Then top 30 will be selected,” Nayak says.
Abhilipsa’s father Bansidhar Bhol is a LIC agent who fully supports her daughter’s dreams of becoming a scientist. Earlier on Friday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated the eight students and wished them for the future. Collector Sangram Keshari Mohapatra also greeted Abhilipsa.
Disease screening kiosk
The AI machine developed by Abhilipsa is aimed at screening of diseases in rural areas and cut down on mortality
Her machine can detect diseases and direct patients to hospital and doctors
The Class X student’s keen socio-economic understanding of rural areas drives the project