So what if I can't be a doctor like my father, I can still be useful to doctors,' thought Pritam Dhalla after finding out that he had failed his medical exams twice in a row. That's when the youngster hailing from Beliatore in West Bengal decided to take up an BTech in Biotechnology at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Odisha and put his innovative brain to good use while helping society as well. After working as a Research Associate at Wrig Nanosystems in Delhi (for how long?), he quit his job and came back to Odisha to start Larkai Healthcare in August 2019 with Neel Guria and the first device the company created was CardioMate.
Imagine a futuristic compact machine that offers early-stage heart impulse and valvular disease-related diagnosis in 15 seconds flat! That's CardioMate for you. "The report it produces can also be understood by doctors in rural areas and by unskilled medical personnel as well," explains the 25-year-old. It is the device's predictive analysis and AI algorithm that allows it to function like it does. The KIIT-TBI incubated start-up, which is 35-member strong, is aiming to launch the device in a month or two. Currently, clinical trials are ongoing. "It was when I realised the importance of early detection of heart diseases and my potential to do something in this field that I started working on this device," shares Pritam.
Speaking more about the device, Pritam informs us that it comes in two models, hand-held and desktop. Though a year of Research and Development has gone into the product, one device can be manufactured in two to three days now. Currently, their device is being used at Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Bhubaneswar and HeartMate Institute in Cuttack. The patent has been filed and they have been granted copyrights as well, he informs us excitedly.
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We also learnt from Pritam that another device named RespiroGear is in the works. "It is a smart inhaler cap that reduces wastage of drug during asthma or pulmonary tract disorder treatment," he explains. The team also has an app called TIH (Trend in Healthcare) by Larkai in Google Play Store that disseminates important content put up by doctors, dieticians, beauty and fitness bloggers and more. They have been able to work on such cool devices because they received funding from the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government Of India and NIDHI-EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence) Fellowship from the Department of Science and Technology.
Innovations during the pandemic
Disinfection services
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They offer these services while adhering to the WHO guidelines. They are offering it in Odisha, West Bengal and New Delhi, and have done this for over 50 clients
Cost-effective and lightweight disinfection tunnel
Made with PVC pipes, these tunnels are light and they have installed over 60 of these in the three states
Automatic sanitiser dispenser with thermal sensors
They have delivered over 50 of these
For more on them, check out larkai.in
