Reading medical literature for fun since he was in the 8th standard, Akash Manoj a Class X student has finally developed a device which can predict ‘silent’ heart attacks. Akash used to visit the library at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru since he was in Class VIII.
Manoj says it would have cost more than a crore for the journal articles he read; hence he resorted to visit the libraries. He says he was always interested in medical science and liked reading the journals. Cardiology was his favourite subject.
When his grandfather who was a diabetic and BP patient died of silent heart attack, he resolved to develop a device to predict silent heart attacks.
A person who has a silent heart attack may not show common symptoms like chest pain, pain in the left arm or shortness of breath at all.
Manoj invented a skin patch to be attached to the wrist or the back of the ear and it will release a small ‘positive’ electrical impulse, which will attract the negatively charged protein released by the heart to signal a heart attack. If the quantity of this protein – FABP3 — is high, the person must seek immediate medical attention.
Manoj has filed for a patent and would tie up with department of biotechnology for the trial. Akash aims to study cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi.