This nifty device can monitor your vital signs and save your life

This article is sponsored by Intel.

Intel has launched multiple initiatives to support the government’s Digital India initiative, such as the Intel India Maker lab that provides infrastructure to budding entrepreneurs and platforms; International Science & Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) that stimulates a culture of innovation and technology-enabled transformation in youth and the Digital India Challenge.

In April 2015, Intel and DST launched the Innovate for Digital India challenge, which was an invitation to aspiring or existing entrepreneurs and innovators to develop intuitive and easy-to-use solutions to drive technology adoption or create applications that accelerate the delivery of e-governance services through eKranti/MyGov apps on mobile platforms.

The challenge attracted 1,900 entries from all over India, and the top 10 winning teams and their ideas were announced on November 20.

One of the top 10 finalists was Asha+, a handheld remote health monitoring solution that aids early detection of change in vital signs and enables timely and effective medical intervention. This low-cost, easy-to-use device measures body temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, ECG, etc. and thereby enable millions of people to check their health parameters at home, leading to a better quality of preventive health care. The device includes a nifty Bluetooth interface to communicate with a smartphone.

Preventive healthcare in India has been neglected for a long time, with the Union Health Ministry stating that non-communicable diseases account for over 60 percent of mortality in India. And it is well known that India is fast becoming home to one of the highest number of cases of ailments such as diabetes, cardiac disease, and cancer. Through Asha+, the Chennai-based Green Ocean Labs is looking to provide an easy-to-use and effective preventive healthcare tool.

The company was founded by Sai Ram Mannar and Dr. Sai Sangeetha and also offers digitisation of medical records, medical records management software, and an occupational health and hygiene management system.