Following the heart!
School student Akash Manoj has developed a prototype to prevent silent heart attacks.
It is not every day that a 15-year-old creates a contraption to prevent silent heart attacks. Akash Manoj, a class X student, from Tamil Nadu, has successfully done just that and was been invited by the President of India to stay with him at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for two weeks, where his prototype was also exhibited.
“Ever since my grandfather died of an asymptomatic heart attack, I wanted to find a solution to this problem, so that it never happens to anyone again. I realised that if I could achieve this, I would probably revolutionise the medical industry,” says the science enthusiast with pride.
“I worked for nearly two years and came up with a prototype last year, that I experimented on and proved with my research. This year, with the President’s intervention, my innovation was verified by experts from AIIMS — I clinically proved my technique to them. It was led by Dr. Balram Bharagava and other doctors. I got a clinical validation certificate. AIIMS is looking forward to incubating my project.”
He was also honoured with the Rashtrapati Navapravarthan Puraskar. With the President’s intervention; they provided Akash with all the research facilities at Bangalore at Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. “I will be making a standard model at Bengaluru for the next two years. I’m partnering with the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, to provide it for people at a low cost of '900. The sale of the device will start from the end of 2018.”
Earlier, Akash was invited to the Tokyo University of Science, Japan, to present his project at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and to get his project endorsed and clinically approved by their experts. The young boy has already been receiving requests from start-ups and private medical companies to take the project forward but has rejected all of them politely. Nirmala Sitharaman, MoS, Commerce, and Industry launched a special committee to speed up the grant of patent and commercialisation of his product.
Apparently, Akash was very secretive about his project — only his parents knew about it. “Had it not been for my parents who supported and incubated my endeavor, I would not have been honoured by the hon’ble President of India and interviewed by reputed national and international news agencies. My father, Manoj, has been motivating and encouraging me in all aspects. He helped me to get an exposure to global platforms. My mom, Somi Manoj doesn’t stress on marks and grades. In fact, my parents don’t ask for the grades and marks that I score in school examinations. They believe in practical knowledge and the application of my learning, which I have managed to achieve to a greater extent. And, when my friends and school management came to know about my project, they were thrilled about the concept and extended their support.”
Only because of such an atmosphere at his home, was he able to develop an inquisitive mind, and the ability to think out of the box, to invent such a life-saving technique. “I had managed to cope with my studies and my research, by giving equal importance. Passion for science, inquisitiveness to question how things work, curiosity to innovate, support and encouragement from people around me, not having a common approach towards studying and exams, and avoiding rote learning have helped me,” says Akash.
Going forward, Akash wants to research in cardiology. “I am an aviation enthusiast and love reading non-fiction scientific books. I am a deep thinker in science as well. I love to ideate!” he explains.