Team #19 // D-Tour
Executive Summary
Vitamin-D deficiency is a very unappreciated pandemic. Feeling any joint/muscle pain? Depressed? Fatigue? You are almost certain to have low vitamin-D levels. It is not without merit that it is considered the definitive parameter in determining societal general health. Our solution utilizes machine learning to encourage users to maintain/get a healthy level of vitamin-D while making it fun. With the “Smart route-planner,” the user is guided to a fulfilling walk in nature, promoting mental wellbeing as well as physical activity. If the weather is bad, the user gets the option to order a delicious meal, from local vendors, containing the daily recommended vitamin-D amount.
Problem
In general, people are not aware of the effects of Vitamin D deficiency. Since the vast majority of Nordic inhabitants are likely to be deficient, the “standard quo” is a society in vitamin-D deficiency. In Denmark alone, 400.000 are suffering from osteoporosis and 150.000 are moderate to severely depressed. Vitamin D is proven to be one of the main factors for both. It doesn’t stop there. Vitamin D deficiency has proven connections to Cancer, chronic inflammation, sclerosis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, psoriasis, arthritis, depression, infection and more.
Target user / Customer
Our target users would be people who are conscious about their health and general well-being. Our customer is the public health sector/ministry of health since they are interested in increasing societal health and productivity.
Your solution and how the concept is feasible
Our solution is an app where users are nudged to get the recommended amount of sunlight for the day by going for a walk, curated route by our machine learning algorithm. The user can choose between three routes: Adventure route (prioritizing parks, nature), Sightseeing (prioritizing local attractions) and “just a walk” (a normal walk down the street). If the weather is bad the app gives you alternative means to get your daily dose of vitamin D; like food in collaboration with a local vendor or a nudge to take a supplement. There is also the option to subscribe to a bi-annual vitamin D test kit for better level prediction. The apps’ feasibility is correlated with the ministry of health’s effort to inform the public on the effects of deficiency.
Four unique value propositions
Which makes our solution/concept unique:
- Our solution encourages people to get the recommended amount of vitamin D, increasing quality of life
- Our solution is novel since there are no other solutions addressing vitamin-D deficiency with machine learning (eliminating the need for a blood test) and physical activity.
- This solution has the potential to have a very large impact in the entire Nordic region, decreasing hospital visits and increasing productivity.
- The solution draws connections to local food vendors, supporting the economy.
Financials
The business model is as follows: A user can use the app for free and has to answer a questionnaire to initialize the usage of the app. A user can also choose to get a subscription of 5€ a month that will yield the user a bi-annual vitamin-D test kit from PureDent to accurately measure their levels at home for perfect vitamin-D level prediction. The local food collaborators give a percentage of every sold product through the app. The app would have to be distributed through a public health institution to get the first wave of users. After that, it will spread word-of-mouth.
Impact
Our solution is aligned with the SDG nr. 3: Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being. The impact is potentially huge. If people start using the app and get their vitamin-D levels up to a sufficient level, societal well-being will increase hugely. The health sector could see a drop in hospitalization and drug prescriptions.
Links for more information
A Novel Approach for Prediction of Vitamin D Status Using Support Vector Regression
8 signs and symptoms of vitamin-D deficiency
Team
Our team has diverse backgrounds: Experiences in Nanotechnology, Machine learning, IoT mesh-network, environmental engineering, design, innovation, and business development. Furthermore, different perspectives from Denmark, Iran and Greece. We have a shared goal: working towards sustainable development with a strong focus on social impact, as well as absolute conviction the notion that we believe society could be happier and healthier! We developed our solution using effective teamwork: we spent time evaluating the problem from each of our different perspectives, settling on our vision before brainstorming solutions. We also consulted with mentors from different sectors in order to address all aspects of the solution.
Group Members
List full name and e-mails (preferably not your student e-mail)
Nicolai Jensen, Nicolai00jensen@gmail.com
Navideh N. Brabi, navideh.nb@gmail.com
Sotiris Lambrinidis, sot.lampr@gmail.com
