Dr Satish Rath, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist-SKIDS
In an insightful conversation with Dr Satish Rath, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at SKIDS, we received a comprehensive understanding regarding the innovations in the health-tech space in India, where the industry is lacking, where it is excelling, and much more.
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Q1) What is SKIDS all about, and what kind of work are you doing in the paediatric space?
Answer 1) Kids bring unparalleled joy to families. Unfortunately, their wellness and preventive care is often neglected. Kids are often brought to the clinics or hospitals by parents at a late stage of the disease when the symptoms are visible or discomfort is unmanageable. This results in a lot of agony and burden on the family. Timely health check-ups at frequent intervals can solve this issue. Skids is addressing this segment of paediatric care by deploying world-class, non-invasive, and kid-friendly technology for the holistic preventive care for kids.
Q2) Please provide us a brief profile and work experience related to the Healthcare Experts involved with SKIDS
Answer 2) Skids is founded by paediatrician and scientist, Dr Satish Prasad Rath. His experience in paediatrics and digital health has led to the conceptualisation of the idea of Skids. Having worked at reputed firms such as Intel, Philips, Xerox, and Asterdmhealthcare with multiple patents and solutions, he has realised that most paediatric solutions are acute care based and preventive care outside hospital is almost non-existent. This motivated him to develop Skids. The platform uses patented technology and advanced AI to create a health profile of children which can be acted upon by parents, schools, and doctors in a proactive manner.
Q3) What are the current technologies being used in India to understand physiological and psychological aspects pertaining to children?
Answer 3) Skids provides comprehensive healthcare for kids. When we say “comprehensive” it refers to the holistic assessment of physical + behavioural + social health of children. Unlike the existing growth chart which monitors only few physical parameters, skids’ advanced health chart monitors 23+ parameters; literally head to toe along with their behavioural and social assessment. Smartphones and social media have unimaginable impact on the delicate and growing brains of kids. Skids has the ability to assess the behavioural state (anxiety, hyperactivity etc), social state (isolation, aggression etc) and physical state (organ health) of the kids. All these assessments are done with a unique set of AI powered devices that are non-invasive and non-intrusive.
Q4) What are the major health related challenges faced by children in India?
Answer 4) to name a few -
1. India accounts for 46% of the global CHD population.
2. 1 in 10 children suffer from CHD in India.
3. 3 out of 10 children suffer from poor lung health.
4. 26% of children surveyed in India were found to have abnormal vision.
5. 1 in 2 high school students have Myopia / Hyperopia.
6. 1.57 million children in the age group 0–19 years have a hearing impairment.
7. 3 out of 10 children with unilateral hearing loss are at risk of failing at least one grade level.
8. 76% of the girls and 72% of the boys are reported to be inactive
during their prime years.
Q5) What precautionary measures can be taken by parents to combat mental and physical health related issues in children?
Answer 5) Most importantly, parents in this hyper-information age need to stay aware and proactive to enable their kids to grow to their maximum potential and protect them from unwanted or preventable consequences. they need to be empowered with a companion which can guide them early enough on the deviation of health and intervene to bring them back to health. Screen-time for example is wreaking havoc on the growth of kids. it influences vision, concentration, hearing, social isolation, aggression etc. They need to be cautious and watchful towards any early symptoms and act as per prescribed intervention. Our children do not get enough physical activity which leads to lifestyle diseases later in life. We need to ensure that children get enough activity along with nourishment to build the right foundation during growing years.
Q6) What are the basic health parameters on which the data is provided to the parents and schools?
Answer 6) Skids provides comprehensive physical parameters along with behavioural and social health. Amongst the 23 parameters of physical health - few important ones are vision, hearing, ear, tonsils, heart, lungs, skin etc. Skids also provides comprehensive behavioural assessments including autism screening, developmental delays, and social health.
Q7) How is SKIDS making a difference in understanding physiological, psychological and behavioural aspects in children?
Answer 7) Child health assessment is challenging. The sector is plagued by insufficient health staff, paediatricians, and suffers a lack of non-invasive and efficient tools. Additionally, to conduct a holistic assessment the physical, behavioural, and social health has to be viewed in combination, not in isolation. Skids is solving this challenge by depending on unique methods of high frequency proxy data collection so that early identification is possible. All skids’ devices are using advanced AI to merge multiple sources of data to arrive at accurate and reliable diagnosis.
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