Beiyouth

Beiyouth develops a biosensor paired with a smart algorithm that would predict tantrums and monitor social interactions of children with developmental disabilities to prevent self-injury, aggression and increase wellbeing.

The problem that Beiyouth is trying to solve is the issue of children with developmental disabilities facing temper tantrums that hinder their quality of life and put them at higher risk of self-injury and aggression. These tantrums or emotional outbursts are frequent in children with developmental disabilities and can barely be predicted due to the lack of facial expressions that would otherwise indicate their occurrence. In Lebanon, this problem is particularly prevalent due to the lack of resources and support for children with disabilities.

For example, many families in Lebanon struggle to access specialized care and education for their children with developmental disabilities. This can lead to frustration and stress for both the child and the family, as well as difficulty in managing tantrums and other challenging behaviors. Additionally, in Lebanon, there is a lack of awareness and understanding about developmental disabilities, which can make it difficult for families to find support and resources.

In addition, many children with developmental disabilities are not diagnosed early, which can further complicate their development and make it harder to manage tantrums and other challenging behaviors. The lack thereafter of specialized care and education can also make it difficult for children with developmental disabilities to reach their full potential and lead fulfilling lives.

Beiyouth aims to solve this problem by developing an application paired with a monitoring system that alerts parents and caregivers of tantrums before they happen and provides a comprehensive tool to indicate about the child’s development and progress. This could help parents in Lebanon to better understand and manage their child's behavior, as well as provide more effective support for their child's development and well-being.

Beiyouth aims to provide a solution to the problem of children with developmental disabilities facing temper tantrums by utilizing a smart textile sensor worn on the leg that monitors physiological indicators such as heart rate, body temperature and galvanic skin response. The data collected from the sensor is then processed through a reinforcement learning algorithm that is tailored to the individual child's parameters to predict the likelihood of a temper tantrum with a high degree of accuracy.

The solution aims to enhance the quality of life for children with developmental disabilities by providing parents and caregivers with early warning signs of impending tantrums, allowing them to take preventative measures. Furthermore, the monitoring system provides a comprehensive tool to track the child's location in regards to others wearing the same device so to ensure an objective track of his/her development and progress, which can aid in the assessment of the child's overall well-being. This can be beneficial in Lebanon as the lack of resources and support for children with disabilities often leads to difficulties in managing tantrums and other challenging behaviors.

The use of smart textile sensors and machine learning algorithms can improve the diagnosis and management of developmental disabilities, which can be a challenge in Lebanon as many children with developmental disabilities are not diagnosed early. Additionally, the monitoring system and application can aid in the provision of specialized care and education for children with developmental disabilities, which is often limited in Lebanon.

The target market for Beiyouth in Lebanon is parents and caregivers of children with developmental disabilities, specifically those aged between 0-18 years old.

Demographic information: Our target market is primarily located in urban areas within Lebanon, with a higher concentration in the capital city of Beirut. The majority of our target market is middle to upper-income families, with a higher education level.

Behavioral characteristics: Our target market is likely to be highly engaged with technology and interested in finding new solutions to improve their child's quality of life. They may be more inclined to seek out specialized healthcare services and therapies for their child.

Needs and pain points: Our target market is facing the daily struggles and challenges that come with raising a child with special needs. This includes managing temper tantrums, stress and anxiety, and difficulties in tracking the child's development and progress. They are looking for solutions that can provide comprehensive support and resources to help their child reach their full potential.

Size and growth potential: According to the World Health Organization, about 10% of the world population have a disability, and it is estimated that around 2-3% of the population in Lebanon have a developmental disability. Based on this, we estimate that our target market size in Lebanon is around 200,000 - 300,000 individuals.

Competitive landscape: There are a limited number of specialized healthcare services and therapies available for children with developmental disabilities in Lebanon, however, there are no comprehensive solutions currently available that combine monitoring, prediction and support.

Segmentation: Our target market can be segmented based on the type of developmental disabilities, age group, and income level, this will help us to identify different subgroups of our target market that may have different needs and preferences.

Overall, by focusing on the needs of parents and caregivers of children with developmental disabilities in Lebanon, Beiyouth aims to provide a comprehensive solution that addresses the unique challenges and pain points of this target market, with the goal of improving their children's quality of life.

As a team of medical sciences (biomedical engineering , medicine), engineering  (mechanical & software engineering) and finance students who have had extensive experience in volunteering and entrepreneurship, our team takes a steady position in providing the best outcome for this issue. In fact, our founder has started her journey at 14, where she spent her summer and the ones after , to assist professors in providing a holistic summer camp experience for children with intellectual challenges. Ever since, she has been recognized for her several works in social justice activism and has been selected as a Young Activist Laureate by UN Geneva and dev.tv . In the quest to provide sustainable designs for disability inclusion within the healthcare field, the team , made of many multi-awarded youth working within the digital health sector, has since forged unparalleled networks with other leading changemakers in the disability inclusion field within the region.

As of now , here are the steps we've taken and those that we intend to take in order to bring our solution to fruition:

1-We have , for the past 4 years, volunteered mostly every summer camp at a school for students with developmental disabilities and got to have a great insight on teachers and caregivers ' daily struggles. This has led us as well to understand what policies they are advocating for and what are the challenges that could imped their purpose driven march.

2-We will be conducting a comprehensive research along with a  psychology professor who is the head of the special kids clinic department at a university hospital in Lebanon.

Beiyouth is here to address an unmet need for children with developmental disabilities that could later be beneficial in providing support to children with different capacities in general. 

We're providing a tech-based, easily wearable solution that has unparalleled accuracy rate in data collection and processing, making it much easier for the caregiver to assess the child's need and focus on necessary element to ensure the wellbeing of the class.

Our solution is the first in the MENA region to provide a biosensor that encompasses all the following functions: predict tantrums, predict aggression arousals before they happen, monitor social interactions with others and act for geo-localization (to make sure that the child doesn't surpass a certain given limit)

This is the prospective timeline that we envision for this upcoming year:

• Month 1-3: Research and development of the smart textile sensor and machine learning algorithm. This includes determining the specific physiological indicators to be monitored, testing the sensor for accuracy and reliability, and fine-tuning the reinforcement learning algorithm.

• Month 4-6: Testing of the sensor and algorithm on a small group of children with developmental disabilities. This includes collecting data, analyzing the results, and making any necessary adjustments to the sensor and algorithm.

• Month 7-9: Further testing and refinement of the sensor and algorithm. This includes large-scale testing on a diverse group of children with developmental disabilities and making any final adjustments to the sensor and algorithm.

• Month 10-12: Launch of the monitoring system and application, including training for parents and caregivers on how to use the system and interpret the data.

• Month 13-24: Ongoing evaluation and monitoring of the system's effectiveness, including collecting feedback from parents and caregivers and making any necessary adjustments to the system.

Month 25+: Continual improvement and updates to the system based on the latest research and advancements in the field of developmental disabilities.

The technology we're providing consists of a smart wearable that would be worn on the foot/wrist of the child (depending on further research we'll conduct on UX ) and that would non-invasively record the following parameters:

-heart rate

-skin temperature

-galvanic skin response

-respiratory rate

-GPS tracking 

The information is later sent to an algorithm based on tiny machine learning that would process it. A dashboard would be available to use by caregivers and parents who will be provided with a displaying application.

-We would roughly estimate that our solution will reach 200 students during research phase as we are collaborating with 2 specialized clinics and schools.

-In total, we estimate our reach to grow twice as much as it was in our pilot study making it 400 children in total in 2023

Here are the challenges we are facing as of now:

• Lack of government support or regulations in Lebanon for this type of technology

• Limited access to funding and resources in Lebanon for a startup in the technology industry.

-We're going to conduct research with one clinic at a reputable university medical center in Lebanon and one private school dedicated to children with developmental disabilities.

Our cost structure consists of : 

1. cost of materials, labor, and overhead for producing and selling the smart textile. This would include costs associated with research and development, manufacturing, packaging, and distribution.

2. Research and development: Beiyouth would also incur costs associated with research and development of the reinforcement learning-based system and the mobile application. This would include costs associated with software development, testing, and implementation.

3. Marketing and sales: Beiyouth would incur costs associated with marketing and sales, including advertising, public relations, and salesforce expenses.

4. General and administrative: Beiyouth would also incur general and administrative expenses, including costs associated with insurance, legal and accounting services, and other general expenses.

5. Technical support and customer service: Beiyouth would incur costs associated with technical support and customer service, including costs associated with training, and customer support infrastructure.

6. Legal and regulatory compliance: Beiyouth would incur costs associated with legal and regulatory compliance, including costs associated with obtaining necessary licenses and permits, as well as complying with data protection and privacy laws.

Our revenue model consists of:

1. Product sales: Beiyouth's main revenue stream would be the sale of its smart textile and accompanying mobile application. The smart textile would be sold at a retail price, and the mobile application would be sold as a one-time purchase or as a subscription-based service.

2. Subscription-based access: Beiyouth could also generate revenue by offering subscription-based access to its reinforcement learning-based system. Customers could pay a monthly or annual fee for access to the system's predictions and insights, which would be updated in real-time.

3. Partnerships and collaborations: Beiyouth could generate revenue through partnerships and collaborations with healthcare providers, schools and other organizations that work with children with developmental disabilities. For example, the company could collaborate with hospitals and clinics to offer its solution to patients and their families, or with schools to provide teachers and staff with tools to support their students.

4. Consulting and training: Beiyouth could also generate revenue by providing consulting and training services to parents, caregivers and professionals that work with children with developmental disabilities. This could include training on how to use the smart textile and mobile application, as well as how to implement the reinforcement learning-based system's predictions and insights.

5. Data and analytics: Beiyouth could also generate revenue by providing data and analytics services to healthcare providers, researchers, and other organizations that work with children with developmental disabilities. This could include providing access to anonymous, aggregate data on children's behavior and development, as well as more detailed data for research and analysis.