After seeing several loved ones suffer with Parkinson’s Disease over the past few years, Greek Imagine Cup finalists Prognosis wanted to find a way to help and offer ‘life insurance’ for those at risk.
With the progressive neurological disease affecting approximately one in every 500 people, Parkinson’s has unfortunately touched many lives. Typically diagnosed in middle-aged and older individuals, it is well known amongst the general public, thanks in part to high profile sufferers like Michael J. Fox and Mohammed Ali. However, despite this public knowledge, few are aware of the specifics regarding diagnosis or treatment.
Made up of engineering and computer science students, the Prognosis team knew that using the latest technologies – including advanced sensors and the cloud – could assist them in their goal of improving quality of care and patient outcomes.
By combining advanced Signal Processing Techniques and Deep Learning Algorithms to extract and analyze natural non-statistical features in the human voice, the team created a tool that can identify early symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. With just the phonetic pronunciation of a simple set of words by the patient, a diagnosis can take place.
At Imagine Cup, the Prognosis team is hoping to complete its detection models and interventions, as well as establish a community who can support future development of their product, including those behind the Microsoft Band. And their plan is ambitious: in five years, they want to have all the necessary funding and be in a position to make their product a reality.
With Greece’s current economic instability – and universities that focus on research and lack incentives to put theory into practice – the team acknowledges that other students are often afraid of taking risks in case of failure. However, this isn’t holding Prognosis back from seeking success at the Imagine Cup finals in Seattle later this month. In fact, they’re urging their peers to believe in their dreams and make them happen!
Find out more about Prognosis here.
