Girls from Delhi use AI for aiding children fighting against disorder
Girls from Delhi use AI for aiding children fighting against disorder
“These were small children. We wanted to make something that could help them”. – Vidhi in a conversation with Robotics India.
It is heartbreaking to see children with disabilities. But it is inspiring to see them create the best out of their challenges and successfully make it through the world. Cerebral Palsy is a disorder that affects the ability of a person to move and maintain balance and posture. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood caused by brain injury due to lack of oxygen to the brain before, during or shortly after childbirth.
Vidhi and Lakshita, two 11th graders from Delhi, first understood this physical disorder through Lakshita’s father, a doctor. During her visits to her father’s hospital, Lakshita came across several children facing challenges in their day-to-day living. She was heartbroken. Thus, she decided to team up with her friend Vidhi and formulate an AI-grounded model to aid them. “These were small children. We wanted to make something that could help them”. Said Vidhi in a conversation with The Robotics India.
Vidhi and Lakshita, who submitted their project at the National Programme for Government Schools, Responsible AI for youth, were among the 20 winners out of over fifty thousand students who participated in the project. Intel AI coaches trained them to build their model.
Building Divyang Roshni
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Lakshitha and Vidhi, who are schoolmates, were motivated by their teachers to join classes in AI when they were 8th graders. They were working on separate AI projects when the National Programme for Government Schools, Responsible AI, brought them together. Initially, they had little idea that they would have to build their model. “We named our model Divyang Roshni. Roshni means light. Our model will be a light for those fighting Cerebral Palsy”. Stated Lakshita.
One of the biggest challenges that the duo faced during the project’s development was collecting data. They had to visit patients in hospitals and collect their readings for building the model. They took the reading of approximately 50 to 80 patients to demonstrate the model.
Divyang Roshni opens the door to an affordable means for testing Cerebral Palsy; as in the standard case, the patients will have to go through costly MRI scans to diagnose this disorder. “The sensor we use in this project is not harmful to small children”, said Vidhi. Divyang Roshni, an app that can be used from the comfort of our homes, requires a few more features for its efficient functioning. Also, according to Lakshita, they need to enhance the accuracy of the model by collecting more data, as it currently stands relatively low.
Responsible AI was conducted during the time while the world was fighting the pandemic. As a result, there was a state of unprecedentedness in everything, which was yet another challenge faced by the girls. “While working on the project, we were preparing for our board exams too. At that point, we did not know that our exams would be cancelled. We were confused and under pressure”. Says Vidhi.
AI in Divyang Roshni
The model is trained to detect Cerebral Palsy in a person by reading their muscle response to nerve stimulation or electromyography readings. Based on the reading, the model predicts the associated symptoms, recommendations and suggestions for treatment. A soft robotics arm is also developed using AI to send the electric impulses to the affected part and facilitate its movement. The app has five different features:
- The first feature: Detects Cerebral Palsy by evaluating EMG readings that help understand nerve stimulation.
- The second feature: Indicates the symptoms that are present
- The third feature: Offers a few helpful tips to navigate Cerebral Palsy
- Fourth feature: Recommends hospitals and medical professionals
- Fifth feature: Has a list of questions the patients can ask the doctor.
A web page will be developed along with a Bluetooth feature so that the person using the app can get the information anywhere according to their convenience. “We were overjoyed when a doctor appreciated our initiative during the Responsible AI presentation”, stated Lakshita.
Moving forward with AI
Lakshita and Vidhi strongly believe in the developmental power of AI and the promise of sustainability it brings. “If AI was introduced before, we could have used it much more effectively during the pandemic”, says Lakshita. The duo, presently aspiring their 11th grade, are also working on enhancing the functions of their model. They are confident that they will use AI to ease their day-to-day lives, whatever may be their line of work in the future.
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