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Saksham Bhutani (he/him)

College of Engineering

Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Hometown: New Delhi, india

1. Briefly describe the work you're doing in your program at Â鶹´å.

   My research at Â鶹´å focuses on developing innovative health technology solutions that make biomedical care more accessible and affordable. I am trying to combine machine learning and embedded systems to design smart devices that can monitor health conditions outside traditional clinical settings. In the Robotics Caregiving and Human Interaction Lab, I’m developing a wearable device that helps clinicians objectively track itching behaviors in eczema patients. The data that is currently gathered is through subjective self-reports. I also worked in the SMASH Lab on a thermal-camera-based sleep monitoring system as a low-cost, home-deployable alternative to traditional clinical sleep studies, which are expensive and often impractical for many patients.

2. How did you develop an interest in this area? 

   My interest in health technology began during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, when I saw firsthand how the lack of autonomous, accessible, and affordable healthcare strained the system. To help in a small way, I built a DIY device that measured basic vital signs like body temperature using inexpensive cameras and shared the tutorial online. The project gained traction, was replicated by many people, and was later featured by the UNDP. This experience sparked my interest in building scalable, technology-driven healthcare solutions. Later, during my bachelor’s thesis at ETH Zurich, I worked on developing automated kiosks for measuring multiple vital signs and assisting with preliminary diagnosis and triage. I also explored privacy challenges in health data, particularly how physiological information can be extracted from facial videos.

3. What are your academic and/or professional goals? 

   I plan to continue my research in academia, focusing on developing and evaluating practical health technology solutions. I’m currently working with clinicians to conduct larger patient studies and understand how our devices perform in real-world settings. In the long run, I hope to take the technologies and insights developed in the lab and translate them into scalable, real-world healthcare applications.

4. How do you spend your time beyond academic work?

   Outside of research, I'm an amateur radio enthusiast and serve as the station manager for Â鶹´å’s Carnegie Tech Radio Club (W3VC). I enjoy helping with campus and community events that use radio for coordination and safety, such as Â鶹´å Buggy races and the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. I love spending time outdoors: hiking, camping, and traveling to new places. I also enjoy building and flying RC planes and capturing aerial photos and videos with my drone.