Class 9 Hyderabad student receives Bal Shakti Puraskar for smart wristband for elderly

Hemesh Chadalavada, a Class 9 student from Hyderabad has been chosen this year as a recipient of the Bal Shakti Puraskar Award for his unique invention a smart wristband to monitor the elderly and disabled. Chadalavada said that his journey started with small robots and cars, after which he started to recognise and devise solutions for day to day problems.

"I first used to make small robots and cars and then started recognizing problems in our daily life. So I started to make innovations which would help the country," he said, adding that he is greatly inspired by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, India's 11th President. The 14-year old's keen interest in innovation led him to create several interesting gadgets. Seeing his elderly grandmother suffer from Alzheimer's inspired him to invent a smart Wristband to monitor the elderly and the disabled.

"Every 30 seconds a person in the world develops Alzheimer's disease. It is similar to forgetfulness in which the disease destroys memory and other brain functions. My grandmother was one amongst many who was suffering from this disease. She used to wander away from the house and get lost without the notice of her caregiver," he told ANI, adding that irregular health checkups were also a common phenomenon. "So to solve the problem, I created a wristband which monitors the patient's health conditions like the pulse rate, body temperature and alerts the caregiver through a mobile app if the patient starts wandering," he said.

The mobile app also displays the vital statistics of the patient and sends them to the concerned doctor. "My ambition is to create and innovate more such projects and devices which would be helpful for the country. I am very happy and honoured to receive this award. Although I have received many awards earlier, this is very special to me as the Government has recognized my skills and I think that this award is going to give a boost to my future projects and innovations," he said.

The Bal Shakti Puraskar is given to children across the country to recognize exceptional achievements in various fields including innovation, scholastic achievements, social service, arts and culture, sports and bravery. Hemesh Chadalavada is among 32 applicants from across the country who have been recognised under different categories. (ANI)

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