Indian teen's invention set to evolve caregiving for Alzheimer's patients in the world

Alzheimer's, also known as dementia, is one of the most difficult disorders to deal with because it's not only tedious on the patient but also takes a big toll on the people who take care of them. Anyone who has known someone who has had Alzheimer's knows just how scary it can be when the little forgetful things turn into bigger, scary things like someone forgetting to switch off the gas or simply wandering off alone at an odd time. That's why an invention made by an Indian teen is being talked about a lot since it is no less than iconic, per The Guardian.

Hemesh Chadalavada, a 17-year-old boy from Hyderabad recently invented a gadget that can help patients of Alzheimer's as well as their caregivers in taking care of them better. Chadalavada created about 20 prototypes of this device before he started to manufacture it recently. As compared to the devices that are currently available in the market, Chadalavada's device is way better in aiding patients. For his invention, he was awarded the prestigious #Unstoppable21 Award by the Times of India, which identifies 21 young individuals aged 21 or younger who showcase the unstoppable spirit of India.

This teen taught himself robotics from YouTube and worked towards making this device. The device which is referred to as an Alpha Monitor can be worn as a badge or an armband by the patient. It sets off an alarm when the wearer moves and also notifies the caregiver in case the patient wanders off or falls. While there are other similar devices available, they run on Bluetooth or wifi. Therefore when the patient moves out of the range vicinity, the connection is lost. However, Chadalavada's design is different. The Alpha Monitor allows the wearer to be detected from a distance of one mile in cities and three miles in the countryside. This is all thanks to something called long-range technology or LoRa. For this, he also received the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Shakti Puraskar Award in 2021.

However, how all of this started is quite a heartwarming story. This little boy was 12 and living with his grandmother, Jayasree, when the latter got diagnosed with Alzheimer's. While Chadalavada knew that his grandmother had Alzheimer's, he never understood the depth of the same until he witnessed an incident where his grandmother forgot to turn off the gas, firsthand. That's when he realized something needed to be done. He'd seen his grandmother as a lovely grandmother as well as a successful professional, which is why he could also see how this disorder altered her personality.

All he wanted was to make it better for his grandmother. He said, "She used to get up at 3 or 4 in the morning and go outside, thinking she was on a train." That's when this little boy began to work on the Alpha Monitor. Along with his YouTube videos to make the device and his normal studying, he also spent a lot of time in a day center that was run by the Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India. The co-founder there, Bala Tripura Sundari also told him how the device needed to be something that the patients could wear easily and wasn't a hassle. All of these notes tremendously helped Chadalavada come up with the device. While his grandmother Jayasree passed away in 2022, it only made Chadalavada's resolve to make the Alpha Monitor stronger—until he did succeed.