Rajat Jain was only 21 when he had to deal with one of the biggest traumas. He experienced a loss that changed the direction of his life. One of his closest friends died of a heart attack and he couldn’t do anything. But this gave him an inspiration to build something in the future that could save other young lives. Years later, his personal tragedy became an inspiration behind a portable ECG device designed to make cardiac screening accessible beyond hospitals.Meet Rajat, Dehradun inventor to build SpandanRanjan along with other co-founders created Spandan, a smartphone-connected ECG device that can record the heart’s electrical activity and generate a report in about two minutes. What began as an attempt to address a deeply personal loss has grown into a healthcare technology initiative. It has a presence in some of the remotest regions of the country.As per a report published by The Better India, over 60,000 Spandan devices have been deployed across 28 states, reaching over 20,000 villages. The technology has reportedly been used to screen around five million patients, with the company attributing more than two lakh lives saved to its work.A personal tragedy which became an inspiration of inventionRajat was 21 and working in the automotive field after studying mechanical engineering. It was then he lost his friend to a heart attack. The incident made him look beyond his professional interests and towards a problem that affects millions of families. The early symptoms of the heart attack.The sad part is that heart attacks are unpredictable. It does not always announce itself with dramatic symptoms. Chest discomfort, breathlessness and other warning signs can sometimes be mistaken for gastric issues. In places where hospitals and specialists are far away, getting an ECG can involve travelling several kilometres, potentially delaying medical attention.How it all started, the team of 5
Meet the team (PC: sunfox)
In 2016, Rajat along with Arpit Jain, Saurabh Badola, Nitin Chandola and Sabit Rawat established Sunfox Technologies in Dehradun. The team started working on a device that could make ECG testing more portable and affordable and also accessible.In 2017, their first prototype was ready. The founders initially financed much of the work themselves. They faced skepticism about whether a medical device developed in India could match the reliability expected of conventional hospital equipment.How a smartphone became a portable ECG machineIt is a portable 12-lead ECG device that connects to a smartphone through cables and electrodes placed on the patient’s body. The device captures the heart’s electrical signals, while its accompanying software uses analytics and AI to generate an ECG report.An electrocardiogram (ECG) is among the first tests doctors recommend when a patient reports symptoms that could indicate a heart problem. It records the electrical signals produced by the heart and helps medical professionals identify abnormalities, including irregular rhythms and signs associated with a heart attack.Spandan was designed to make the process possible in smaller healthcare facilities.One of its important design features is that it draws power from the smartphone instead of requiring a separate battery. It can also work without an internet connection, making it useful in areas with unreliable electricity and network connectivity.According to Rajat, the device can be operated by healthcare workers with or without formal medical education, although clinical interpretation and medical decisions remain important parts of patient care. The company says its devices are available in different models, priced between Rs 6,900 and Rs 75,000.Fortis Hospital in Uttarakhand
Meet the founder Rajat Jaiin
In 2018-19, Sunfox conducted a pilot at Fortis Hospital in Uttarakhand in collaboration with the SELCO Foundation. A subsequent study in 2021 at Fortis Escorts Hospital in Dehradun compared Spandan readings with those of a conventional ECG machine. Of the 153 patients enrolled, 110 were included in the final results. The readings matched in 108 of those 110 cases.Larger studies followed, including research involving 2,799 patients published in the Anatolian Journal of Cardiology in 2025. Rajat says the company has since conducted more than 30 studies and compared Spandan’s performance with standard ECG machines in over 30,000 patients.Another important initiative came in July 2022, when the company partnered with the Uttarakhand government to organise a free cardiac screening camp at Sonprayag, the starting point of the Kedarnath trek.Pilgrims visiting the region could undergo ECG screening through trained local volunteers.During the first month, nearly 1,500 people were screened, and 59 were referred to a local doctor. The initiative demonstrated how portable technology could help bring basic cardiac screening closer to people travelling through remote mountain regions.Sunfox says it has deployed more than 60,000 Spandan devices across India, covering over 20,000 villages in 28 states. Its technology has reportedly been used to screen approximately five million patients.The company has also expanded its work with state governments. In Uttarakhand, it has been involved in screening pilgrims along the Char Dham Yatra route. According to Rajat, more than 13,100 pilgrims had been screened and 463 critical patients identified by October 2026.For Rajat, the journey from losing a friend at 21 to developing technology that can reach patients far from major hospitals represents more than the growth of a startup.While Spandan cannot replace a hospital, a cardiologist or emergency treatment, it can make ECG testing possible in smaller clinics and remote healthcare centres.
