Odisha launches programme to develop AI tool for monitoring growth of children

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government has launched a pilot programme for development of an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for monitoring the growth of children, officials said. A five-day training-cum-workshop on ‘AI for Growth Monitoring: Development of an AI Tool for Child Anthropometry’ was inaugurated here on Monday, they said.

Odisha has emerged as the “first state in the country” to pilot such a study, the officials said. The event was inaugurated by Shubha Sarma, Odisha’s principal secretary, Women & Child Development Department. During the occasion, a training module was launched to guide the field team in the data collection process for development of the tool.

The initiative is a joint effort by the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD), Wadhwani AI, ICMR-RMRC Bhubaneswar and Poshan Abhiyaan, an official release said. “The aim is to develop an AI-based solution that will simplify and enhance the accuracy of child anthropometric measurements conducted by anganwadi workers,” it said.

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The AI tool will automate the recording of essential child anthropometric data such as weight, height, head circumference and chest circumference, through short videos captured on basic smartphones operated by the anganwadi workers, the release said.

This approach seeks to improve the feasibility and precision of anthropometric assessments, enabling the early detection of malnutrition in children , it said. Following their training, the field investigators will undertake a three-four month targeted data collection across the districts of Balasore, Cuttack, Ganjam, Jajpur, Keonjhar, and Mayurbhanj for the pilot assessment and execution.