A Vancouver teen recently returned from an international science competition in China, where he was one of two students representing Canada with his smartphone system he hopes will detect disease early on.
What his algorithm tracks, he says, is the way people walk.
"What a lot of people don't realize is that gait changes or changes in how people walk are actually validated markers for neurodegenerative diseases," Kai Leong told CTV Morning Live Monday. "So I wanted to take this really expensive system that's currently available and put it on a smartphone."
Leong was participating in the China Adolescent Science and Technology Innovation Contest, an international competition that brings together 700 people from around the world each year. To even get to the competition in Macau, China, Leong had to compete in a pool of 500 Canadian students.
The 18-year-old started developing this system when he was in Grade 10, and it's something that's been on his mind for a while – ever since his grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Leong said he's always been interested in seniors and hopes to go to the University of British Columbia to study geriatric medicine.
"I've always been a lover of science but I never really resonated with the school system, with textbook-based learning," he said.
"I was really, really fortunate to have science where I'm able to think outside the box, go outside of putting my face in the books and actually designing something that could actually have potential to impact people outside of my community."
Leong said his algorithm – which one day will be developed into an app – tracks peoples' gait, or the way they walk.
The system is not unlike other movement tracking devices, like Fitbits, except the data it tracks is a bit more precise and comprehensive, Leong said.
For any other young scientists, Leong's advice is to take risks.
"Never be afraid to fail," he said. "In things like innovation, failure is often a stepping stone to success."
