Jui Keskar's wearable device for Parkinson’s patients bags top prize at IRIS National Fair

Jui Keskar, from Pune city, is among the twenty-odd winners from across India in the IRIS (Initiative for Research and Innovation for STEM) National Fair. She will be representing India at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) to be held in the US, the date for which is yet to be announced.

This Class IX student of Orchid School has bagged the prize for designing and developing a wearable device ‘JTumour 3-D’ for those suffering from Parkinson’s disease. This device is capable of monitoring attacks brought on by the condition in real-time.

Last week, Keskar presented her device during a three-day online competition, partly funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology. She had developed it last year during the nationwide Covid-induced lockdown, after being inspired to help those suffering from Parkinson’s disease, including her own uncle.

IRIS is a platform where projects and innovative ideas of students between Classes IX and XII are supported and promoted, both nationally and internationally. Winners of the first and second rounds have planets named after them, undertaken by Lincoln Laboratories, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. So far, 31 Indian students have had their names given to planets.