With over 25 years of experience in the medical field and now as Head of Digital Health team at Samsung Electronics, I spend a lot of time contemplating how technology can truly drive progress in healthcare, rather than being just another innovation for innovation’s sake. That’s why I’m very excited about AI as it offers new ways to address many of society’s health problems by simplifying complexity and at scale.

In our ongoing work to reimagine healthcare, Samsung is leveraging advanced AI algorithms and extensive technical expertise to develop solutions like Energy Score. This feature quantifies physical and mental energy levels through multiple health indicators including sleep, heart health and physical activity. Our vision is to include more comprehensive metrics like nutrition, mental health and additional mobile usage patterns to provide a holistic view of users’ health status, powered by AI.

AI holds great promise for early disease prevention through analyzing patterns and behaviors, detecting abnormalities, and even predicting potential health issues. By combining our long-standing sensor innovations with AI leadership, we aim to elevate our capabilities in preventing diseases, beyond sleep apnea and expanding to cardio-metabolic conditions. In particular, blood glucose is a big area of focus for us, and Samsung has been working to develop a sensor algorithm that predicts early signs of diabetes — along with non-invasive blood glucose monitoring technology and continuous glucose monitoring-integrated nutrition coaching.

Our goal is to support proactive health management, lowering healthcare burdens on individuals, families and communities at large. I strongly believe that AI will revolutionize the digital health industry and simplify the wellness journey for everyone. As a global tech leader, Samsung is uniquely equipped to make this a reality with our mix of technology innovations and a growing ecosystem of partners.

Interestingly, the top 50 teams that have been chosen for the next phase of ‘Solve for Tomorrow’ have had a particular affinity towards solving issues in healthcare.

Samsung had asked participants to send in their ideas in 4 theme areas – Education, Environment, Healthcare and Agriculture.

Of the top 50 teams, 31 teams have ideas around solving problems in healthcare, from developing monitoring devices, diagnostic aids and special aids for the differently abled to improvements that help medical and ambulance services, and two very interesting ideas around menstruation.

In the first part of this series on our Top 50 teams, we spoke to six teams that worked on solutions for improved healthcare services:

Team 1 – The Social Workers

Thanusree, Sonam and Shivani, who are team Social Workers are developing an app and a website that will take the medical system online, making doctors consultations, ambulance services and other services available at the click of a button.

Thanusree, Sonam and Shivani always wanted to be the change makers

The three friends thought of this ideas during the pandemic when they noticed the problems faced by patients in consulting a doctor by putting their lives at risk.

The three girls from Andhra Pradesh started researching for the need to decrease the effort of consulting a doctor even in remote parts of the country.

Their personal experiences with Covid gave them a strong reason and belief in working on The Social Workers App that will benefit the lives of people around them.

Team 2 – One Space

Dhruva, Kruthi and Bhanu are working on the OneSpace digital platform that will help children with autism and their parents find easy access to mental health professionals and streamlined care.

Dhruva, Kruthi and Bhanu from Team One Space

They feel this will empower children and parents to deal with each other in a better and healthier way.

Team 3 – Team Outlaws

Aarav, Faheem and Anaswara from Team Outlaws began studying the molecular structures of vaccines when India was fighting hard against the pandemic. All of their research lead them to design AI algorithms that will potentially help in the development of new drugs and vaccines.

Faheem, Anaswara and Aarav are all smiles after being selected in the top 50

With the help of Solve for Tomorrow, now they want to simulate models of medical trials for faster processes that save time and money. Their AI device would use machine learning models to search medical data and uncover insights to help improve health outcomes and patient experiences.

Team 4 – Critical Care

Vansh and Sudhanshu from Delhi have seen many accidents where people didn’t survive just because they didn’t get immediate medical care. These two young android developers plan to create The CriticalCare app which will ensure that fully equipped ambulances reach patients on time.

Vansh and Sudhanshu from Delhi

Before planning for the app, the duo spoke to drivers, private owners, accident victims and their families to get a sense of how crucial is the need for a quick ambulance service in such situations.

Team 5– xTrend’s

Abhinav, Anish and Vignesh’s xTend’s app will help people self-diagnose certain diseases and organize doctors’ appointments with nearby hospitals. They’re a team of three computer engineers on a quest to use IT to transform the medical industry. They will be using their AI and machine learning expertise to help patients dig deep into their symptoms and diagnose for a disease at a primary level.

Abhinav, Anish and Vignesh are on a quest to use IT to transform the medical industry

Team 6 – AI Overflow

Chetan and Subhanu are young techies from Andhra Pradesh who want to revolutionise the way oxygen, plasma and medicines are delivered to hospitals. Their app AIOverflow will optimize deliver of these to hospitals in a max time of 10-15 minutes.

Chetan and Subhanu from Andhra Pradesh

“According to the National Crime Records Bureau, nearly 24,012 people die each day due to delays in getting medical assistance. Many of these people have suffered heart attacks and brain hemorrhages due to the delay,” said Chetan.

With their app, the duo wants to create an ecosystem for the most critical medicines and healthcare services in and around different pockets of cities to ensure timely delivery to hospitals.

These teams, along with others in the top 50, will now attend a three-day Bootcamp at IIT Delhi where they will receive expert advice, guidance and mentoring.

Over two days at IIT Delhi, seasoned experts will guide the teams on how to build their first prototype and effectively pitch their ideas in front of an expert Samsung jury on Day 3. The jury will select the top 10 teams.

Here’s everything you need to know about Solve for Tomorrow’s innovation themes –

Education: Enabling education for a sustainable tomorrow remains pivotal to India’s economic growth. With Samsung India, the pillar represents a window of opportunity for participants to contribute to self-reliance and support a better livelihood for thousands of people across the country. By 2030, India aims to eliminate gender disparity, upskill the number of youth and adults, and ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.

Environment: Climate change is disrupting national economies with massive carbon footprint and ever-rising temperatures posing a serious concern. Under its Solve for Tomorrow program, Samsung India aims to empower participants to combat the disproportionate impacts of this global phenomenon. The pillar seeks to strengthen adaptive capacity to climate-related calamities and find solutions to save our planet for future generations.

Healthcare: Poor health is a major contributor to mental illness and deprivation amongst individuals. With Solve for Tomorrow program, advents including the eradication of diseases, addressing new challenges like COVID-19, global access to medicine and vaccines, and current and new health emergencies, are some of the key areas that need innovation.

Agriculture: India’s key livelihood agriculture, shares a major chunk of the overall GDP. The sector, however, is still dawned with challenges like deteriorating natural resources and climate change. With this program, the prospect to overcome hurdles extends to thinking wisely about enhanced hybrid varieties and implementing improved management practices, which conserve soil and water resources apart from other solutions.