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E.C.H.O

“Efficient Communication for Hospitalized outpatient” is devised for the patients who are unable to describe their problems effectively.

E.C.H.O

The Device “E.C..H.O” is devised especially for the patients who are unable to communicate and effectively describe their problems.
(Efficient Communication for Hospitalised outpatient)

#SDG In Focus

SDG 3 : Good Health and Wellbeing

Idea

Communication is an important expression of living. Inability to communicate can cause frustration, foster anxiety and fear, creating a feeling of isolation.
It can also compromise the medical treatment because patients are unable to effectively describe their condition or problems.

Problem statement

My grandmother was 77 years old. She was diagnosed with COVID19 and due to prolonged mechanical ventilation and neuromuscular weakness, she was unable to speak or communicate through writing.
I wanted to aid her recovery process by providing a solution that would help her communicate with family members, doctors, and nurses.

Constraints

  • Patients with Tracheostomy find it extremely difficult to speak.
  • They are not able to communicate through gestures because of neuromuscular weakness.
  • Can’t write properly.

Idea

Communication is an important expression of living. Inability to communicate can cause frustration, foster anxiety and fear, creating a feeling of isolation.
It can also compromise the medical treatment because patients are unable to effectively describe their condition or problems.

Problem statement

My grandmother was 77 years old. She was diagnosed with COVID19 and due to prolonged mechanical ventilation and neuromuscular weakness, she was unable to speak or communicate through writing.
I wanted to aid her recovery process by providing a solution that would help her communicate with family members, doctors, and nurses.

Constraints

  • Patients with Tracheostomy find it extremely difficult to speak.
  • They are not able to communicate through gestures because of neuromuscular weakness.
  • Can’t write properly.

Idea Brainstorming

My Grandma tried very hard to use hand and lips movement wanting to communicate, but all in vain.
I researched and found a Lip Reading Translations (LRT) modes that could be Used..SRAVi
SRAVI (Speech recognition App for the Voice Impaired) can recognise specific phrases by analysing lip movements. It can be used for communication without sound – especially for people with speech difficulties.

Around 20% of the patient’s vocabulary covers more than 80% of what they want to convey.
The idea was to create a device so that patients can convey this 20% which will incorporate the most frequently used expressions and communication needs, such as – water, food, change bodyside, change diaper etc. It can even express emotional levels as – pain, helplessness or wanting love.

Idea Brainstorming

My Grandma tried very hard to use hand and lips movement wanting to communicate, but all in vain.
I researched and found a Lip Reading Translations (LRT) modes that could be Used..SRAVi
SRAVI (Speech recognition App for the Voice Impaired) can recognise specific phrases by analysing lip movements. It can be used for communication without sound – especially for people with speech difficulties.

Around 20% of the patient’s vocabulary covers more than 80% of what they want to convey.
The idea was to create a device so that patients can convey this 20% which will incorporate the most frequently used expressions and communication needs, such as – water, food, change bodyside, change diaper etc. It can even express emotional levels as – pain, helplessness or wanting love.

Final Solution

     An empathetic approach was critical as the project and outcomes were centred on patients in the ICU. I tried to gain an understanding of the problem while sitting with my grandmother for hours and also observing the needs of other tracheostomy patients in the ICU. Speaking with doctors, nurses and physiotherapists also helped me define the problem statement and potential outcomes. I realised here “Less is more”. That meant we needed to work towards capturing maximum output /communication with minimum inputs.

     Due to sepsis and GI bleeding, my grandma would be sedated for hours if not days. Through inputs from her nurses and observing her closely in the few hours she would be awake, I tried to capture the key requirements.

     Capturing key commands which could be used by my grandma and ICU patients, on a rough sketch needed detailed thinking. Unlike in other tabs where the design focus is on being sleek and getting a cool look, my focus was to create a design that was convenient to use and sensitive to the shaky hands of patients. It was important to have a large font size and big buttons to make it user friendly.

     I worked on this project for over 6 months. The journey of making this project, from working on the basic problem statement to building a working model, was a very emotional one. I started this project with my grandma in mind. Though she is no more, I really hope that in the future this will bring some comfort to other tracheostomy patients in the journey of their recovery.

Skills Applied

CAD | Electronics | Design Thinking | Programming | Soldering | Prototyping

Glimpses of the making

Project Contributor

Kanav Arora

Detailed Project Documentation

This Project Has Been Developed By The Alumni Of Innovation School

Project Contributor

Kanav Arora

Detailed Project Documentation

This Project Has Been Developed By The Alumni Of Innovation School

Solution In Action

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