How Technology Can Transform the Fight Against ALS
Indu Navar, a seasoned technology entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, is on a mission to combat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) after the devastating loss of her husband, Peter Cohen, to the disease. Navar founded the EverythingALS organization and the Peter Cohen Foundation, seeking to harness technology and artificial intelligence to speed up the process of finding a cure for ALS.
With a background in engineering and a career that started at NASA, Navar has always been passionate about leveraging data and analytics. She shared, ‘Both my husband and I have been on the ground floor building technology that changed the world.’ The couple dedicated years to their careers, with Cohen working on significant projects at Amazon.
The couple’s life took a tragic turn when Cohen began experiencing unusual symptoms, which eventually led to a lengthy and costly diagnostic journey. ‘Every 90 minutes, somebody is getting diagnosed with ALS, and they’re hearing the same diagnosis they heard 80 years ago,’ Navar stated. Sadly, Peter was diagnosed in 2018 and passed away just a year later. This experience drove Navar to establish her nonprofit in honor of her husband, aiming to improve the state of ALS treatment.
Pioneering Solutions with Technology
Navar’s organizations aim to bring innovative technology solutions to ALS, focusing on tracking patient progress through advanced sensors that monitor speech, breathing, walking, and motor skills. ‘Our goal is to bring technology innovations to ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases,’ she explained. Unlike traditional methods that rely on patient-reported outcomes, these sensors provide objective data that can predict patient progression, allowing for earlier diagnosis and treatment.
The EverythingALS platform includes a dedicated app that connects patients and allows them to engage with generative AI tools, representing a significant step forward in patient support. The vision extends beyond ALS, as Navar plans to expand into other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
A Call to Action for Collective Efforts
Navar urges the community to rethink its approach to ALS and similar diseases, emphasizing the importance of patient care as a precursor to discovering a cure. ‘If you don’t care for people, you’ll never come up with a cure,’ she remarked, highlighting the personal and collective responsibility to drive change. Her journey stands as an inspiration for leveraging technology in the fight against serious health conditions, encouraging a broader movement towards innovation and compassion.
