Adrian Ang

As a sufferer of childhood asthma, Adrian has endured more than his fair share of visits to the A&E department. He knows first-hand how much stress and anxiety the ailment can put families through – a huge reason why he was motivated to create a device that can give parents of asthma sufferers peace of mind.

He co‐founded AEvice Health with his university mentor, Associate Professor Ser Wee from Nanyang Technological University, and his good friend Edmund Shao. They created BioAsthma, a small wearable device for asthmatic children and an app that monitors symptoms such as wheezing, coughing and respiratory rate. Currently in its final stages of testing, the device uses artificial intelligence to improve diagnosis and provide an early warning to the onset of an asthma attack so that medication can be administered before the attack escalates, and trips to the hospital can be avoided.

While Ang doesn’t have a medical background, he says his time studying electrical engineering in university has allowed him to understand “how algorithms and big data can be leveraged to better manage an individual’s healthcare”.

The Nanyang Alumni Award recipient credits Assoc Prof Ser, AEvice Health’s chief scientist, as his inspiration. “He has a conviction that science and engineering can improve the lives of many,” says Ang, “and that motivates me to commercialise what he has built and bring it into the market.”