2014 Winner
FOR DIASENSE
Jairaj Chintamani
Linkedin

The Problem

Diabetic neuropathy damages nerves in the legs and feet of diabetic patients. These foot infections are the single largest reason for hospital admissions of diabetic patients. Every year about 25% percent of diabetics develop ulcer-related complications that ultimately result in amputation.

The Motivation

Dr. Jairaj Chintamani made a simple observation – extremely neurosensitive, weight-bearing human feet are able to maintain a huge mass of living tissue. The majority of animal feet bearing weight possess dead, insensitive, calloused tissue. This observation inspired him to create a Diasense.

The Inclusive Innovation

Diasense is a non-invasive device that allows a physician to measure the neuropathy and pin point high-risk ulcer prone zones in the feet, thereby allowing the physician to initiate preventive measures. This helps prevent formation of foot ulcers and gangrene development, potentially helping the patient avoid an amputation. This high-tech device offers a unique and individualized solution that uses sensors that run on a software to predict the possible ulcers with almost 90% accuracy. The device offers a non-invasive procedure, user-friendly software interface, report generation in less than five minutes, and no consumables or hazardous materials or byproducts are used or generated. In addition, it is easy to operate and anyone can be trained to do so. It could also prove useful for patient management for other diseases that involve nerve damage, such as leprosy and multiple sclerosis.

The Impact

They have established nine revenue-sharing diagnostic facility tie-ups and are examining about up to 50 patients per day per centre for the past two years. They have also completed demonstrations in several state government hospitals across country and are looking forward to receiving purchase orders.