Manual scavenging – in cities, often visible as manhole cleaning – is considered one of the worst professions in the world, and with good reason. Not only are the working and living conditions of scavengers appalling, they also have dire consequences on their health and livelihood. In India, four or five people die on the job every month; most manual scavengers don’t live beyond the age of 30. For them and their families, social oppression and extreme exclusion have been long-standing issues.

The winner GenRobotics’ innovation is a robot called ‘Bandicoot’ that cleans manholes remotely using robotic arms and computer vision. It uses pneumatic and electric actuators, infrared cameras, sensors and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites (CFRP). This robot can do all the tasks that a man can inside the manhole, is remotely operated and can clean up to ten manholes a day. Manual scavengers will not lose their jobs as they are being rehabilitated to become robot operators and get employed in the high technology sector, thus giving back to them and their future generations, dignity.

Globally, 425 million people suffer from diabetes and 1. 6 million deaths are attributed directly to the chronic disease each year. It causes serious health issues, including blindness, foot amputations, heart attacks, chronic anaemia and kidney failures.
On a mission to change this, Dr. Vinay Kumar set up PathShodh Healthcare. The company was incubated at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE) at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Here, medical device anuPath was created – a point of care bio-sensing device for managing diabetes, chronic kidney disease and anaemia & malnutrition. This single device is capable carrying out 8 tests on a tiny blood sample within 60 seconds. What’s more, it does not need special storage conditions and is ultra-low cost – 80% cheaper than conventional testing methods!
This revolutionary innovation has already been used to screen about one lakh people from 3 states in India. Soon, it could have a positive impact on the lives of all who are affected by diabetes.

The incidence of dengue has increased 30-fold over the last 50 years. Up to 50-100 million infections are now estimated to occur annually in over 100 endemic countries, putting almost half of the world’s population at risk.

At the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Dr. Navin Khanna developed a test that can help address this problem. The three-in-one ‘Dengue Day 1 test’ can detect dengue fever within minutes on day one of the fever, affordably in resource-poor settings. It can differentiate between primary and secondary dengue virus infections, which is so vital for clinical management of dengue infected individuals. Interestingly, it can also detect the presence of the virus in a mosquito. This breakthrough will bring a sigh of relief as the incidence of dengue has increased 30 fold over last 50 years. The test kit is now a market leader in India, having captured more than 80% market share with more than 6 million tests sold in 2016 alone. Its cost is 3 to 4 times less than a conventional test. The test kit is now being exported to other countries too.

Diasense is a unique and innovative individualized solution. It is a non-invasive device that allows a physician to measure the neuropathy and pin point high risk ulcer prone zones in the feet, thereby allowing the physician to initiate preventive measures. This helps prevent formation of foot ulcers and gangrene development, potentially helping the patient avoid an amputation. This high-tech device uses sensors that run on a software to predict the possible ulcers with almost 90% accuracy. It could also prove useful for patient management for other diseases that involve nerve damage, such as leprosy and multiple sclerosis.

‘iBreastExam’ uses innovative sensor and material technology combined with software computing to accurately identify cancerous lesions and tumours. It is a breakthrough technology that has the potential to dramatically improve the accessibility and affordability of breast cancer screening. It is a portable, radiation-free and non-invasive US FDA approved device ensuring that the screenings are safe, pain-free and private. Mihir has also proposed an innovative pay-per-use model – instead of targeting direct sales – which will allow doctors in every corner of the country to start screening women for breast cancer at the earliest.

‘Sanket’ electrocardiogram (ECG) device is a disruptive high-tech innovative solution for personal cardiac care. It is a credit card-sized heart monitor, which acts like a portable ECG machine, making it possible to monitor the heart condition, making it as simple as monitoring the body temperature. The high-tech 12-lead ECG recorder connects to a smartphone wirelessly, and displays and records ECG graphs on a smartphone. The ECG report can be shared instantly with a doctor via e-mail, Bluetooth – or even via WhatsApp! The affordable device marks a dramatic shift in the way we approach cardiac care – doing away with expensive ECG machines, distant hospitals or laboratories, and skilled technicians.

Axiostat is an advanced wound dressing that stops traumatic external bleeding. It utilizes the unique biomaterial ‘Chitosan’ in a novel sponge form. It is India’s first developed, patented, and commercialized Emergency Haemostatic Dressing.

ToucHb is a simple, inexpensive and non-invasive detector for anemia, which requires no needles, no pricking, no high tech gadgets and no trained assistants. It is a real game changer and a boon for millions of poor old people around the world, who suffer from undiagnosed, and therefore untreated anemia.

3nethra is an intelligent, portable, non-invasive, non-mydriatic, low cost device that helps in pre-screening of five major eye diseases, namely, cataract, diabetic retina, glaucoma, and cornea & refractive index with powerful inbuilt auto detection software. The innovation comes at a cost that is one sixth of the current cost of collective pre-screening devices and one that can be operated by a minimally trained operator. The solution has a value proposition for everyone in the entire eye care value chain, namely, the elderly blind, doctors, eye hospitals, rural entrepreneurs and pharmaceutical companies.

Innovative use of ingenuously available raw material extracted from knitwear fabric waste and agro-residues like bagasse waste for making Adult Urinary Incontinence Diapers. This is a path breaking effort in improving the hygiene of elderly belonging to the lower income strata.

This innovation significantly reduces skin irritation that normally leads to formation of bedsores and also reduces the risk of mishaps due to involuntarily leakage of urine from the bladder in the elderly.