Little Giants

Inspiration

Recent studies indicate that the diagnosis of Growth Hormone (GH) deficiency is currently done a couple of years after it could have been identified and treated. An appropriate administration of the right therapy at the right time could help patients achieve final height during crucial years of body development. The consequences of untreated conditions could potentially lead to severe medical complications in adulthood. Personalized diagnosis and tailored therapies should be implemented and slowly replace the use of cut-off value-based charts.

On those grounds, height -and other body records such as weight- get usually lost over the years due to inconsistencies in measurement and a lack of digital tools and habits to store them. Although doctors perform several evaluations on a regular basis, parents and kids (soon teenagers), do not have a digital and easy-to-access record of their body dimensions over the years. An appropriate documentation of such records could lead to the understanding and early diagnosis of under-reported growth disorders in children. This will facilitate the administration of well established therapies a the right time.

We believe that a digital and periodical record of body measurements, over long periods of time can provide patients and practitioners with valuable tools to target conditions and improve current healthcare workflows and protocols. Evidence-based cases of patient empowerment (using the right tools) have shown a reduction in waiting times, insurance costs, and incidence of under-diagnosed conditions.

What it does

Little Giants is a concept that encourages parents and children (soon teenagers) to keep a digital record of their body measurements based on a points reward system. The gamification of data obtation and storage helps parents and children keep track of their records and provides physicians with reliable data during crucial moments. Growth curve charts and standards generated by patients for patients provide more accurate information that can be fed back to the local communities.

Little Giants translates data points obtention (Eg. height) to game points that can potentially lead to prizes and presents in a community based environment. Parents can opt to exchange their points for T-shirts and other clothing items with the size automatically calculated by Little Giants. The platform can also predict an estimated T-shirt size for the next months or years based on an analysis of the personalized growth curve. Furthermore, parents can also request a present from a friend or a relative by sending the right size of the item (T-shirt). Clothes can also be bought if the parents or children wish to do so by using well established delivery methods such as Amazon or Ebay. The clothes themes and designs are built on the classic door/wall measuring tape that features images and sizes of animals. Children are encouraged to design their own T-shirt online and request their parents or someone in the Little Giants community to get it for him/her. Little Giants also supports people and NGOs in countries currently facing economic challenges by enabling a size-based request for donations.

The application also enables the storage of other relevant data such as weight, body circumference, arms and legs length. This helps keep track of the body mass index (BMI) and potentially prevent or alert parents and physicians with the risk of other conditions in countries where overweight and diabetes have a high prevalence.

The sizes of the children can potentially be share in a ludical way in social media. An example Facebook post or tweet can be: “my giant is now 80 meters and is riding a blue whale”. For this purpose, users who are not willing to share personal images can choose an avatar from a bestiary curated by Little Giants based on famous children books.

For the users willing to share personal images, the phone app can link the post to recent memories and achievements such as “first day of school”, first steps, birthday, etc.

MEASUREMENT: Measurements are obtained in several ways. Parents can choose to download a set of A4 size papers and attach them together to generate a big matrix featuring scales and animals on the side. Parents can also request a cloth or towel to be delivered to them with printed scales and animals. A calibrated cell phone app can recognize the points marked in the paper matrix or the towel and calculate the height. The cell phone app can also obtain data from image recognition software-based devices installed at home that can perform the measurements automatically. Little Giants is a concept that can adapt to current trends in technology but remains also available for those who do not want or can not afford an expensive gadget.

How I built it

We did research on the state of diagnosis of GH deficiency, therapy and governmental policies by reading several online guidelines and journals.

We interviewed several parents and we asked them for their worries about their children’s height. We also asked for their current habits on measuring their kids and how that information is forwarded to the doctors. The relationship with the doctors was also investigated.

Empathy-based interviews provided valuable insights about mother and children. We found that children really like measuring themselves and they usually like to share it. We also found that they like relating to a scale that features animals, dinosaurs or even buildings

Challenges I ran into

To create a service that can engage the parents in a behavior that has potential but lacks in habit and accuracy.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Talking to the parents and discovering several insights about the current dynamics in measuring height inside homes. We were very surprised to hear that the kids really like to measure themselves but also that the parents usually ignore such data and consider it not very accurate.

What I learned

That the generation of a behavior does not necessary depends on technological advances but can benefit from it. Small efforts on a daily basis can help tackle health problems and bring benefits to the community.

What is next for little giants

Generate a technological gadget that can measure kids and teenagers on a regular basis. Talk to possible sponsors. Work on the community-based platform. Improve the interface and workflow. Talk to service providers, delivery systems and a safe IT architecture considering local legislation. Develop business canvas and spelling and grammar check in the submission :)