How Innovators Are Adapting Existing Technologies to Fight COVID-19
How Innovators Are Adapting Existing Technologies to Fight COVID-19
IT Data Solutions
As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc globally, having claimed more than 115,000 lives by now, the research community is finding novel ways to contribute to the global response against the crisis. Many universities are building DIY ventilators, face masks and face shields for healthcare providers. Others have created sophisticated tracking tools to map out epidemic hotspots.
On the other hand, some ingenious innovators around the world are realizing their existing products could, with a little tweaking, address various challenges posed by the novel coronavirus. Think of it as tech recycling. In fact, these devices might even help to prevent future pandemics and revolutionize health care, if scaled up and adopted widely.
In India, where COVID-19 cases are still hovering in the 9,000 to 10,000 range—but are estimated to rise to 2.2 million in the worst-case scenario by one projection—an emerging tech tool reinforcing hand-washing could prove beneficial. Developed by social innovation engineer Kanav Kahol, Miaza Mirror is a smart mirror that can detect the presence of a person as soon as they wave at it, and then it walks them through the multi-step hand-washing process recommended by the WHO in a 35-second animated video.
Kahol, who is the co-founder of the New Delhi-based firm Pink Tech Design and an adjunct professor of biomedical informatics at Arizona State University, has a stellar history of building healthcare marvels, such as a virtual reality simulator that allows surgeons to perform cognitive and psychomotor warm-up exercises before surgery.
Kahol launched Miaza Mirror, which detects human presence with a help of a gesture-based sensor, in 2018. Initially, he envisioned it to be a smart mirror, along the lines of smart phones, smart speakers and smart TVs, that people could tune into to get news, send emails or even take selfies. It’s currently being used in offices, especially in entrance areas where it engages visitors with company advertisements. But, soon enough, he was brainstorming its health implications. “[The idea] really came with my kids, as we all often tell them to wash their hands and brush their teeth,” says Kahol. “But when they’re doing it in front of the mirror, for them it’s a very nice, timed way of going about it.” Apart from hand-washing, the “health mirror,” as Kahol calls it, could potentially be used for breast self-examination and even reminding the user to take their medication.
