Students share innovative solutions for diagnosing and treating snakebite

At the recent Nagathon Snakebite Innovation Challenge held at the Indian Institute of Science on August 16, 2026, college students showcased their innovative solutions to address the critical issue of snakebite diagnosis and treatment. The top prize of ₹1.5 lakh was awarded to team NAGAM, consisting of Prarthana and Chaitanya, who proposed a digital platform utilizing a cloud-based dashboard.

This platform enables patients to locate antivenom swiftly through a simple interface, allowing hospitals to update antivenom stocks rapidly. Consequently, this reduces delays, unnecessary transfers, and ensures that clinicians and administrators can monitor real-time availability and critical-care capacity.

In second place was team AHIVACH, led by Varun Patel and Hashir. Their solution employs a multi-channel approach, including WhatsApp, SMS, IVR voice calls, and laminated cards, to deliver prevention messages, guide first aid, support snake identification, alert hospitals in advance of a patient's arrival, connect with rescuers, and follow up with survivors post-recovery.

This initiative incorporates school-based education, local-language messaging, antivenom rerouting, and survivor stories to bolster prevention and response efforts.

The third prize went to team Project Raksha, driven by Dhrubajyoti Ganguly and Priyanshu Misra. Their community-based behavior-change campaign aimed at minimizing critical delays in reaching medical care after snakebite centered around the slogan "First the Hospital, Not the Healer." The approach utilized street theatre, radio broadcasts, household outreach, village route maps, trained volunteers, ASHA workers, and a multilingual helpline to create an immediate hospital referral response.

Notably, the campaign also engaged traditional healers and community elders as referral partners, recognizing their pivotal role in rural areas.