Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) researchers in association with the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), have developed ‘SwasthGarbh’ smartphone App for providing antenatal care and real-time medical support to pregnant women.

The app instantaneous access to doctor’s advice and is clinically endorsed. Both patients and doctors can avail the benefits of the App free of cost as it is available on the Google Play Store.

The clinical assessment of 150 patients demonstrated the utility of the App in improving the quality of antenatal care and reducing complications. The patients registered on the App showed a significantly higher number of mean antenatal visits and better compliance with the WHO guidelines. It also helps in better counselling of patients regarding the formulation of birth plans and the management of physiological problems encountered in pregnancy according to IIT.

Prof KK Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee, said, “The utility of telemedicine in healthcare has been brought to the forefront by the COVID-19 pandemic. The smartphone, with over one billion users worldwide, has tremendous potential to transform the field of medical sciences and improve healthcare.”

Sahil Sharma and Prof Deepak Sharma from the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Roorkee, along with Prof Vatsla Dadhwal and Prof Aparna Sharma from AIIMS, Delhi, developed ‘SwasthGarbh,’ an interactive platform to promote prenatal care which is holistic in its outlook and patient centered.

It assists pregnant women by ensuring timely antenatal care visits, recording every clinical test and improving medication adherence. A research paper highlighting the benefits of  SwasthGarbh App has been published in the prestigious peer-reviewed IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health.

Prof Deepak Sharma, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Roorkee, said, “As higher Neonatal Mortality Rate is an alarming concern, SwasthGarbh Mobile App will provide real-time medical support to all pregnant women and improve maternal-fetal health. This is a gift from IIT Roorkee to all the women in India/World and will help us to move forward in the Prime Minister’s Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat mission.”

Prof Vatsala Dadhwal, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, AIIMS New Delhi, said “SwasthGarbh App allows two-way communication between the patients and doctors to improve pregnancy outcomes. Our pilot study showed that the App was well accepted by the pregnant women as well as doctors. We would like that more and more patients and doctors use the App so that the quality of healthcare provided may be enhanced.”

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