Dr Abhay Jere
What are the majority of Indians working abroad worried about the most? Obviously, their parent’s health back in India! Rajendra Sadhu, founder of Vyzin Electronics, was also going through similar emotional dilemma. Whenever his parents had health issues, Rajendra had to rush back to India to look after them. He was worried that medical emergency can strike anytime, hence was desperate for having a monitoring service or device that would help avert any medical disaster with his parents.
‘Necessity is mother of all inventions’, although a cliché, again proved right. Rajendra thought of a very innovative solution, which he later named ‘VESAG’, to remotely monitor his parents health. What’s incredible is not that Rajendra thought of this device but what’s more amazing is that no one had thought of it before.
In March 2010, Rajendra conceptualised a remote monitoring device that could be ‘worn like a watch’ and would help track the vitals of the user. Moreover, in case of an emergency, the device would also trigger an emergency response mechanism to avail immediate medical help. The concept was novel, hence, Rajendra patented it and immediately started working on building a prototype.
Rajendra got so fascinated by his remote monitoring device idea, that he decided to quit secure job and invested all his life’s savings into this project. The prototype ‘watch’ was ready within 8 months and the concept was widely appreciated. Vesag ‘watch’ is a wearable device and works as an information gateway. It interacts with all other Vesag devices such as Oximeter, ECG, heart-rate monitor, blood pressure unit, etc. and sends health parameters using mobile technology. All the information is then integrated and uploaded to the cloud for remote health monitoring. Information can be verified by the primary care doctor remotely and can provide appropriate feedback. It can be also used as a mobile-based personal emergency response system. In March 2011, Connected World magazine ranked ‘VESAG’ as No 1 Connected Health Devices in the world. Now, Vesag devices are sold in over 15 countries.
Although, VESAG solutions are inexpensive, they might still be a bit expensive for rural Indian population. Hence, Rajendra is currently piloting a project whereby individual devices are placed at a Panchayat office or with ASHA workers to check the health of all the villagers with special emphasis on pregnant women.
