Noncommunicable Diseases

The proposed intervention will address the problem of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases among street vendors and other populations vulnerable to air pollution. The respiratory and cardiovascular health effects of air pollution exposure is well documented in the epidemiological literature including from occupational groups exposed to air pollution. We have also observed these adverse health effects among the street vendor population in Accra (Amegah et al. JESEE 2022).

Asthma is a noncommunicable diseases that affects all age groups, especially children and adolescents. Estimated prevalence of childhood asthma in India reported to be as high as 29%. India accounts for more than 40% of global asthma deaths as per the 2019 Global Burden of Disease report. According to WHO, childhood asthma is commonly underdiagnosed, especially in lower and middle-income countries. This is mainly because of poor awareness among parents and school teachers, and the limited availability of diagnostic methods like spirometry during school health check-ups.

Nicole Stoffel of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom together with Pattanee Winichagoon of Mahidol University in Thailand will perform a double-blind randomized controlled trial to test whether providing iron-fortified food to iron-deficient women in Thailand improves their immune response to vaccination. Vaccines underperform in low- and middle-income countries, which may be caused by poor nutrition. Iron deficiency is common, and iron may play a key role in adaptive immunity and vaccine response.

Large open wounds accompanied by tissue loss is a huge medical challenge in conflict zones. They result from blunt trauma caused by blasts and building collapse or from bed ulcers in quadriplegic patients. They range from 10 to 50 cm in diameter with penetration down to bone. The wound is left unclosed for several weeks to months until it develops enough blood supply to become ready for closure. It requires daily dressing changes, which is very painful and can easily be infected and complicated.

The project proposes use of metabolomics including High throughput Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) as a powerful tool for the discovery of biomarkers for differentiating bacteremic cases and non-bacteremic cases among febrile neutropenic Cancer patients to decrease antibiotic consumption, differentiating antimicrobial resistance extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) present or not based on metabolites and differentiating community acquired blood stream infections and hospital acquired blood stream infections including Centr

The Inali Arm solves a problem that derails the lives of millions of people across the world. India alone is home to more than 22 million people with disabilities, with children making up nearly 8 million of that number. Due to cost and lack of accessibility, most of these people never get the help they need. The proposal intends to develop indigenous low-cost, affordable arm to for thousands of people who are living without any prosthetic care.

Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCE) has the potential to become the leading screening technique for the entire gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Till date, no Artificial Intelligence (AI) based diagnostic aid has been developed to assist endoscopists in identification and classification of abnormalities post the WCE procedure.

The study proposes a novel low-cost health monitor with 4 components. The first component is a vibration sensor pad which when placed under the mattress detects heart and respiration signal using ballistocardiograph. The respiration signal obtained is also used for sleep apnea screening and the heart signal is also screened for arrhythmia instances and monitoring cardiac cycles (LVET, ICT, IRT). The second component is a bedside unit for data acquisition, processing & communication (GSM & WiFi) with alert system.

The idea is to prevent Grade I pressure ulcers in bedridden patients. The proposed solution is an overlay which can be retrofitted to any bed and ideally sits below the mattress and above the bed. The solution will be capable of automatically turning / repositioning the patient to different stable sleep positions mimicking the body’s natural motion such that it re-establishes blood flow to compressed tissues. This results in pressure shifting and redistribution, without the aid of caretakers and prevents development of pressure ulcers.

Old age makes geriatric population vulnerable to non-communicable disorders like kidney disorder, cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension and diabetes nephropathy. Micro-albumin concentration in urine is a well-established biomarker for early diagnosis and management of these comorbidities. To address this gap, the current proposal aspires to deploy a novel self-monitoring Point-of-care (PoC) device to bring independent living with minimum health care support in resource limited settings.