Vignesh Ravi created history by applying for a patent for his pet creation — a heart attack detecting vest

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CHENNAI: A 15-year-old’s keenness to create a system to reduce delays in treating heart attack victims has led to the development of a heart attack detector and alert system. Vignesh Ravi of Class X in Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan, KK Nagar, has applied for a patent for his pet creation — a heart attack detecting vest.

The working of the vest is simple: The minute voltage produced by the heart is being graphed constantly, using embedded oscilloscope in a circuit. This ECG is integrated through the textile electrodes. The vest is to be worn between the body and the person’s clothing.

When there is any variation in the ECG, it is identified by a pattern recognition system. The variation is immediately used to send an alert of a heart attack to a nearby hospital, contacted using a GSM sim card that is part of the circuit.

“I had read in the newspapers once about the millions of lives lost every year because a heart attack victim is not able to reach a hospital early enough to save his life. This prompted me to design this vest,” explains a beaming Vignesh. His creation was submitted for IGNITE 2010, organised by the National Innovation Foundation, where he was announced one of the top finalists. IGNITE 2010 is a national competition for students’ technological ideas and innovation organised in partnership with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Navodaya Vidyala Samiti, Society for Research and Initiatives in Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI). “I was one of the 18 finalists from over 2000 entries received across the country,” Vignesh says.

Vignesh is now the school’s hero, but the lad modestly says he hopes to concentrate now on finalising the product. He has been granted `2 lakh for research on the machine, and the permission to use the bio-electrophysiology lab at IIT-Madras for further research. “I have received `8,000 as the first instalment for acquiring the equipment in making the final product,” he explains. He is also in the process of receiving a patent for the creation. “I could understand the medical aspect involved in making the vest from the internet, but for the GPS, I needed the guidance of my relatives,” he said.