🩺 Introducing "Apna Vaidya": Your AI-Powered Healthcare Assistant 🚀
Did you know that millions of Indians face challenges in accessing qualified medical advice due to severe shortage of doctors? I come from a remote village in West Bengal, India. The nearest health center with a qualified doctor is 15km away. When I was 12, I had a severe migraine attack but nobody in my family or village ever heard of Migraine. I suffered intolerable pain for a week on medications of regular fever, indigestion and painkillers. On the 8th day, when I was taken to a specialist doctor, a simple medicine quickly relieved me. Even today, this is a huge problem faced by millions of people everyday. While it is bad in big cities, it is almost tragic in villages and remote areas.
The fact that India has got cell phone reception and smartphone penetration even in the most remote villages but doesn't have access to quality healthcare professionals is unacceptable. People generally rely on quack doctors & shopkeepers for medical advice because they can't afford or have access to qualified physicians. But, what if you could have a qualified doctor to answer your medical questions 24/7?
In recent times there has been a lot of chatter about possibilities and wonders of AI. Especially, my friend and mentor, MIT prof, Ashwin Gopinath’s commentary on AI got me thinking - what if we can use the power of AI to solve the huge unmet needs of medical awareness in India. I am not an AI expert; but seeing all the chatter, I decided to give it a go anyway.
Surprisingly, it was not as hard as I would have imagined it to be. In my free time and on weekends, with help from Sambarta Ray Barman, Avigyan M. for coding & some guidance from Ashwin, we created an AI powered Telegram chatbot that I feel ready to share with the world:
"Apna Vaidya" (https://lnkd.in/gzgc4Ziq) can understand your medical queries in multiple modes:
✅ Type out your medical question in any Indian languages.
✅ Send a voice note describing your symptoms, again in any Indian languages.
✅ Upload a photo of your prescription, wound, or medication.
It's like having a doctor in your pocket, anytime, anywhere. And the best part? We have tuned it for India, with a deep understanding of local health needs and cultural context.
But to make "Apna Vaidya" truly game-changing, we need your help:
🩺 Doctors & healthcare professionals: We'd love your feedback to make "Apna Vaidya" smarter & more accurate.
🧪 Beta testers: Help us catch bugs & identify areas for improvement.
💡 Everyone: Share ideas on what you may want to make "Apna Vaidya" a more powerful tool for public health.
We truly believe - AI can be a force for good, empowering people with knowledge and making healthcare more accessible. With your support, "Apna Vaidya" can transform millions of lives. This is just the beginning of the AI healthcare revolution. Let's make history together! 💪🏽🚀
#AI4Good #HealthcareAccess #InnovationForIndia