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BY RHICK LARS VLADIMER ALBAY
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Friday, June 2, 2017
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“DO you have ideas big or small? Then you could be the person we’re looking for – an Everyday Genius,” teased international science and exploration magazine National Geographic in their call for entries.
Who knew the next “everyday genius” could be found right here in Iloilo?
Twenty-year-old software engineering student John Elmer Loretizo was recently awarded with the grand prize in National Geographic’s “Everyday Genius” contest where participants from all over Asia pitched their ideas for inventions and innovations to vie for the honor.
An incoming 5th year student at Central Philippine University, Loretizo stuck to his background in software engineering and proposed a groundbreaking app named PaDS, or Patient in-transit Diagnostics System – a mobile emergency response application that sends a patient’s diagnostics to a target hospital for treatment preparation in advance – which could potentially save thousands of lives, especially here in the Philippines.
“PaDSwas an idea created through my observation of the protocol in emergency cases here in the country,” shares Loretizo. “As I come to read news articles on patients not being accepted in hospitals here in the country because of the lack of facilities and the like, the chances of that patient receiving the immediate care becomes slim.”
“The patient must transfer from one hospital to another and in rural areas, this could take half an hour to more than an hour depending on the distance of two hospitals. Immediate medical attention must be given to them.”
Loretizo, also a student leader from General Santos City, shares that inspiration for the app came from his own experience dealing with an emergency situation during a bout of illness.
“It’s based on my personal experience,” said Loretizo. “I [once] had a hypokalemia [attack] at around 2 a.m. I was rushed to the hospital because I had difficulty breathing but to no avail, I had to wait for a couple of minutes before being entertained. After I was entertained, the doctors still had to query me about my medical history before giving me some form of initial treatment and subjecting myself to some tests.”
“After much consideration of these cases and the current protocol in emergency response, PaDS came into being,” the young innovator explains.“PaDS would specifically bridge the communication gap between a patient in transit to a target hospital. When initially, basic monitoring is only done to patients while being transferred, PaDS would be able to send communication from a user to a certified medical practitioner in app.Since every second counts in an emergency situation, the time that was supposedly used to diagnose a patient is now used to actually treat the patient. ”
Loretizo, who has won exclusive access to the Nat Geo Explorers Festival set to be held in Washington DC, adds that it’s his background as a software engineering student that gave him the edge in the competition and – after graduation – he is excited to see what he can do in the field.
“I look forward to be working as a software engineer in a reputable multinational company here in the Philippines without compromising my inclination into research and the like. I just want to involve myself in causes that could possibly help the world while I am being able to practice my field of expertise,” concluded the “Everyday Genius”./PN
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