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Ideas for a better world

By US Desk
01 November, 2019

We worked on a solution for arthritis. NSAIDs and DMARDs are commonly used medications.....

HAPPENINGS

The 5th All Pakistan DUHS-DICE Health Innovation exhibition was held recently in Karachi. Over 40 educational institutions from across the country collaborated with the aim to encourage students’ participation and highlight their innovative ideas amongst industry giants.

Here are a few projects which caught our eye.

We worked on a solution for arthritis. NSAIDs and DMARDs are commonly used medications. Our model is to provide a natural cure for the patients instead of medications. We’re combining aloe vera (for its anti-inflammatory and GI-protective properties) and lemon (as an alkaline agent) to treat arthritis in 42 days, with no chance of recurrence once the treatment is stopped. Since our main ingredients are available 365 days, have no side-effects, and essentially cost-effective, it would give us an edge over other competitors.

- Sara Khan, Jinnah Sindh Medical University

We worked on a solution for arthritis. NSAIDs and DMARDs are commonly used medications. Our model is to provide a natural cure for the patients instead of medications. We’re combining aloe vera (for its anti-inflammatory and GI-protective properties) and lemon (as an alkaline agent) to treat arthritis in 42 days, with no chance of recurrence once the treatment is stopped. Since our main ingredients are available 365 days, have no side-effects, and essentially cost-effective, it would give us an edge over other competitors.

- Sara Khan, JSMU

Ours is a pain management system. We are still in the initial phases of building a noninvasive wearable device that would work the same as a painkiller. We’ve ensured the electric signals are FDA-approved so there’s no side effect. What sets us apart from other equipment available in market is they are all generic devices and therefore not effective in treating all sorts of pain; our device would focus specifically on either chronic back pain or diabetic neuropathy.

- Anam Siddiqui, NUST

Did you know Spirulina is the most researched natural alternative for nutrition in both human and animals? While there are endless benefits of Spirulina as superfood, its high percentage of proteins and vitamins makes it especially useful for countries battling malnutrition disorders. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, there’s neither research nor awareness amongst masses regarding it. And those who do know about it, can’t afford it due to high import cost. We studied the Zarrouk’s media which is mostly used for Spirulina biomass industrial production, but is expensive for large-scale projects. By substituting many components of Zarrouk’s medium with naturally-occurring nutrients and by changing its nitrogen source, we were able to reduce the production by nearly 70%. With Spirulina being produced locally, we can improve economy; people from all socio-economic backgrounds will be able to afford it and enjoy good health,

- Xaviera Khalid, Dow College of Biotechnology (DUHS) and University of Karach

The Braille cell is made up of six dots arranged in two columns of three dots each. Our framework was to create a lightweight, power efficient, and cost effective electronic braille system for visually impaired students to enter Braille codes/data that will be transformed and displayed in personal computer/software application in English language. This will enable the teacher to assess the respective database of students. For the students, the distinctive sound of each character is a plus; they’ll know exactly what they’re typing!

Our project was incubated at Mehran University. We’ve already received positive response at National Special Education Complex. Where a person using traditional device was taking 10 seconds to type a sentence, they took as little as four seconds while using our device. And where an electronic braille would cost around four lac rupees, our solution is for Rs. 30,000 only.

- Muhammad Ahmed, Sidra Jawaid, Hassan Ahmed, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology

Drosophila or fruit flies are used in evolutionary and developmental studies. Humans are exposed to number of carcinogens on a daily basis, whether it’s through cosmetics or plastics; so our attempt is to detect different carcinogens using drosophila because its genetic makeup is similar to human genetic makeup. By exposing the fruit flies to these materials and observing the changes within, we can easily work out the way that particular material will affect a human, too. We exposed it to different concentrations of DPA (or diphenylamine), a type of antioxidant that is added to plastics, and saw that if it was taking a normal larva 2 days to convert pupa, this stage was reasonably delayed by exposure to DPA. Now the genes that are involved at this stage in fruit flies resemble the ones involved in bone formation in humans. In other words, exposure to DPA can cause bone cancer. This experiment proves we can use drosophila as a model to detect different carcinogens.

Additionally, drosophila can be used as a disease model. Cyclopia is a rare congenital disorder wherein a baby has one eye only. As inbreeding is considered a root cause of this disorder, we tested the drosophila for the same for 12 generation when cyclopia appeared. Now that a trait appeared, we studied it further and came to know there are two genes in both drosophila and humans that are involved in eye development.

- Ayesha, Anousha, Sharon, Saniyah, Ifrah, DUHS

- Hamza Hasan