Aman Midha & Abhishek Sen

2010

Aman Midha & Abhishek Sen

Biosense

http://www.biosense.in

Health

The Bold Idea:

Bold Idea: Prevent the one million anemia-related maternal and infant deaths that occur in developing countries each year, by introducing an affordable, effective, and non-invasive screening and monitoring tool.

Every year, nearly one million women and children under five, die due to anemia. Close to 40% of maternal deaths are directly or indirectly related to anemia. Severely anemic pregnant women are at a risk because they cannot bear mild to moderate blood loss during childbirth. They also give birth to Low Birth Weight babies who are prone to infections and have very low chances of survival. The ones who survive have a poor physical and mental development. The inability in preventing these deaths lies in the lack of diagnostic facilities and absence of doctors in low resource settings. Doorstep health workers, who are usually amongst the better or only educated community members, have neither the tools nor the skill to take objective decisions and replace a doctor.

Biography:

Aman & Abhishek believe in the development of socially relevant technology which empowers the communities in low resource settings by providing them with a pertinent technology which gives them an equal opportunity to improve their lives.

Aman Midha

Moment of Obligation: What experiences led to the desire to start your own organization?
I had wanted to be a Car Designer since my childhood and after my formal design education I had been involved with interior design for a popular Indian car company. The experience in car interiors gave me tremendous exposure to the complexity of a system such as the automobile but it did not satiate my hunger for a social cause. I quit my job after a couple of years and started working as an independent consultant to an architectural firm, a brand consultancy start-up and then even a social network till I met Abhishek through a friend in my network. Even improving upon the initial prototype needed considerable investment. Our team participated in a number of competitions and were runners up at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad where we were awarded an incubation. With the recommendation of Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship at IIM-Ahmedabad we formed Biosense Technologies Private Limited in December 2008

Gall to Think Big: What has given you the ability to dream big and take on deeply entrenched social and difficult problems? (Such as experiences, skills, events, etc.)
I believe that it all begins during ones childhood and I can clearly backtrack how my parents have been instrumental in shaping my personality, not by making decisions for me, but by making me independent and allowing me in taking my own decisions. They gave me the liberal space to let me choose my way of life that allowed me to develop my own tastes and preferences. The independence that started off as exploring markets grew into a liking for traveling and observing people and places.  I think this has enabled me to explore unfamiliar territories, understand the challenges and find my way through with possible sustainable solutions.

New and Untested: What's innovative about your new idea for social change?
Anaemia is a worldwide concern since nearly a million women and children die directly or indirectly due to nutritional deficiency anaemia. A major reason for this is inappropriate diagnostic and monitoring infrastructure within low resource settings. Existing tools are invasive making them less compliant with the patients. They fall short in one way or the other by being expensive, having a high recurrent cost per test, requiring a special skill to perform the test and in most cases lacking a monitoring function.     Our innovative idea stems out of the technology that we have developed in simplifying the diagnostic procedure for screening and monitoring for anemia, by making the tool, ToucHb, non-invasive(needle free/no blood sample required) cost effective(no recurrent costs other than batteries that need to be changed after several tests), that does not require a special skill to operate and gives the result in a numeric range. ToucHb will empower every doorstep health-worker in a village to take an objective decision and allow her/him to take the necessary therapeutic action instantly in order to save lives

Seeing Possibilities: What are the most important qualities to be a successful social entrepreneur?
Readiness in taking up and giving in the best in any kind of task that can and will come along while pursuing the big bold idea.

Which musical artists/albums get you going and keep you inspired?
I like to listen to compilations such as Mercedes Benz Mixed Tapes and Putumayo Collections. Classic Rock is all time favorite and I like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits, U2, Ozzy Osbourne, RHCP. Also enjoy post grunge and alternatives like Audioslave, Hoobastank, Incubus. Corinne Bailey Rae, Norah Jones, misc jazz as well as some indian numbers by  Kailash Kher & A.R. Rahman

What books do you recommend (pleasure, work and anything in between)?
Magic Mirror of M.C. Escher: by Angelika Taschen  The Art of looking Sideways: by Alan Fletcher

Which websites do you visit often (work and/or personal)?
google, youtube, facebook, designboom, howstuffworks, yankodesign

What advice or quote do you keep close to your heart as a social change leader?
This one has a deep impression on my mind since childhood, "Try try and try again until you succeed"

Abishek Sen

Moment of Obligation: What experiences led to the desire to start your own organization?
During 2007 Abhishek had visited a tribal village Melghat, Maharashtra, India as a volunteer for an  NGO called Maitri, which means friendship in Sanskrit. This village was nearly 20 km away from the  nearest PHC and could only be reached barefoot or on a bicycle since there are no roads. A large  population amongst women was anaemic and although the government has its various schemes in  place , due to inaccessibility, it was impossible for villagers to travel to the PHC to get their blood  samples tested and lose a day’s wage. Doorstep screening was another option. We looked at the  point of care testing for malaria surveillance by the National Malaria Control Program, requiring a  peripheral smear but is not in compliance due to the existence of socio-cultural beliefs against  drawing blood. Similarly, when established, doorstep screening for anaemia would have its own  challenges, primarily being the skill and setup required to perform the tests, the former being  extremely difficult that can be gauged by the fact that the only person who could read in the village  was a 10th grade dropout. This brought forth a need for a simple solution that can be used even by  an unskilled person.

Gall to Think Big: What has given you the ability to dream big and take on deeply entrenched social and difficult problems? (Such as experiences, skills, events, etc.)
My experience in medical school has opened new dimensions for my thought. There is plenty to accomplish and coupled with an understanding of medicine and technology we are uniquely positioned to design tools which enhance health care delivery for the other 90% of the world.

New and Untested: What's innovative about your new idea for social change?
According to WHO, anaemia is predominant in pregnant women and young children & has serious  physiological, social and economic developmental consequences. Our aim is to intervene this  problem at an early stage by simplifying the diagnosis & monitoring of anaemia that would also help  us in spreading awareness of the disease and its consequences. We intend to do this by deploying  our device ToucHb that does not require a finger prick to estimate hemoglobin. The device gives  instant results(< 1 minute), is portable which means that it is convenient for a health worker to take  it to the doorsteps of the affected people. We envision that the non-invasive nature ensures better  patient compliance and a means to spreading awareness about the disease and help in attaining the UN Millennium Development Goals in maternal health by 2015.


Seeing Possibilities: What are the most important qualities to be a successful social entrepreneur?
The soul of a dreamer and the will of a warrior.

Which musical artists/albums get you going and keep you inspired?
Nirvana, R.E.M., Pink Floyd, A.R.Rahman, Defiance.

What books do you recommend (pleasure, work and anything in between)?
The Alchemist, The Robin Cook series, The Art of Electronics.


Which websites do you visit often (work and/or personal)?

•  www.google.com
•  www.nextbillion.net
•  www.ted.com

What advice or quote do you keep close to your heart as a social change leader?
Don't give up! Your dreams may be closer than you think!