[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]A[/dropcap] Chennai based young scientist has come out with an innovation which could help thousands of patients afflicted with paralysis and have lost their speech power. The system SPA (Smart System for Paralysed person’s Assistance) is a digital device which could amplify the needs and requirements of paralysed persons through digital display and audio systems.
When a paralysed person is in need of a glass of water, it is a tough task for him/her to let the others know about the requirement. Similarly, if they feel hunger or pain it will take hours for the persons attending to them to understand their problems.
M G Gireeshan, a research scientist with Bharat University in Chennai, has a solution to the challenges faced by these paralysed persons. A specialist in digital applications, Gireeshan has developed a sensor cum receiver system which is capable of detecting the needs of the patient and transmitting them to the attendants in the form of audio and video signals.
“What I have found is that most of the patients afflicted with paralysis could make some movements either with their hands or legs. I worked out a scheme with which these movements could reach the attendants to the patients concerned,” said Gireeshan.
[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]A[/dropcap] sensor in the form of a band-aid is attached either to the finger or the toe of the patient. “The direction in which the patient moves his finger or toe could help us to understand his needs. The signals received by the sensor is transmitted to the receiver where it gets converted into audio or video signals thanks to the programme stored in the system”, said Gireeshan.
A digital display unit shows the signals in the form of short messages likes ‘I need water”, or ‘I feel hungry’. This can also be conveyed through short audio messages so that the attendants to the patients could get audio alerts.
It was the predicament faced by a close relation who was suffering from paralysis which made Gireeshan to take this up as a challenge. “My relation has been connected with the sensor and he is communicating with its help,” he said.
Chandra Gupthan, a Puducherry-based medical doctor who has been an associate of Gireeshan in this project said the instrument would be of great help to those suffering from paralysis. “The paraplegics and those who suffer paralysis lose their power of speech. These groups will find SPA useful and it will make their life easy,” said Gupthan.
Gireeshan is no strangers to innovations and inventions. An anti-piracy system developed by him to check and prevent film piracy had won laurels from many quarters.
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