The outcome of timely health screening and preventive action is healthy children

As the world hastily marches towards a technologically empowered and enhanced future, numerous industries and verticals of business are revolutionised daily. We see innovative and modern inventions coupled with the wonders of technology take individuals and organisations to a whole new level of productivity and performance, limited only by the extent of their imagination. Yet another industry being reimagined and upgraded by the coalescing of technology, experienced doctors, scientists, and entrepreneurs is “Paediatric Digital Health Technology.”
Paediatric Digital Health Technology has been due for an upgrade and there are several aspects of this industry that can be improved upon for the long-term health of children. To begin with, improving the accessibility to quality health-care and affordability of paediatric healthcare services. The merging of technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) with traditional healthcare systems opens up many new doors to paramount discussions that could pave the way for the implementation of necessary habits and systems. One such topic of discussion is the regular health screening of children for the early detection of present or potential health concerns.
New innovations empowered by intelligent technology can help organisations and individuals comprehend the enormous amount of information or complexities that otherwise could not be easily understood. For example – Our company SKIDS uses advanced Artificial Intelligence to merge and compare multiple sources of data to arrive at an accurate and reliable diagnosis. This is one such real-world application of the unification of tech and healthcare.
Timely and regular health screenings further assist the process of developing healthy habits based on the conclusions of the screening. This can enable parents to proactively care for the well-being of their children, helping them cultivate long-term beneficial habits to address any underlying health concerns identified during the regular screenings.
Though the future of the industry looks promising, the present problems plaguing the children of our country will also be addressed to a great extent with the implementation of such digital innovations. Presently –
26% of school going children in India are found to have abnormal vision. 1 in 2 children in higher secondary have Myopia / Hyperopia. India is home to 1.5 million children between 0-19 years with hearing impairments (the highest in the world). 25% to 35% of children with unilateral hearing loss are at risk of failing at least one grade level.
India alone accounts for 46% of the global CHD (congenital heart disease) population. Nearly 10 out of 100 children suffer from CHD in India.
35% of school going children suffer from poor lung health.
1 in 3 children who wear glasses have non-normal vision indicating lack of periodic screening. 60% of children with learning difficulties have an undetected vision problem.
These staggering numbers clearly indicate the dire need for timely health screenings, precautionary measures, and proactive involvement in child health. As the saying goes; “prevention is better than cure,” but one must first be equipped to identify what it is they are preventing. This is where Paediatric Digital Health Technology plays an integral role.
The writer is the chief scientist and co-founder at SKIDS.