At the age of 19, Kansas resident Erin Smith designed and created a technology that can detect early signs of Parkinson’s disease. After watching a video of Michael J. Fox late into his Parkinson’s diagnose, she noticed his facial expressions, smiles and laughs specifically, seemed distant. She suspected that this face masking, or hypomimia, was common to the disease, so she consulted clinicians and caregivers who confirmed her suspicions.

This invention, FacePrint, tracks facial expression over time to determine if there is a rise in hypomimia in a suspected Parkinson’s patient. Smith’s creation uses AI to collect data from the images it scans, advancing diagnoses for Parkinson’s and other neural diseases by months and potentially years. With funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation and various pharmaceutical companies, she ran tests with FacePrint using control groups of non-Parkinson’s volunteers, comparing the scans and results with diagnosed patients. She trained the algorithm after running many experiments to more accurately process the footage it captures, and therefore refine diagnoses. Her invention has held a 95% accuracy rate for spotting early-onset Parkinsons and a 93% accuracy rate for detecting early signs of other neural diseases (Chapman, 2022).

While her refining of this technology has been successful in detecting neural disease, a feat on its own, Smith seeks to help improve the care of patients with this tool in the future, perhaps through drug and disease-modifying therapeutic development.

Erin Smith innovated in an incredibly powerful and, for me, unexpected way. I have not heard of a technology of this kind, let alone one created by a teenager. Smith is inspiring to me in how she made a unique observation and entered a niche industry where she could create impact for a group of people in need. Her tenacity in addressing a very prevalent problem is admirable and impressive.

Young Inventor Honored for App to Detect Disease in Facial Expression

8 year old, Maya Penn wanted to build a sustainable fashion brand. Her mother told her, “Figure out how to do that and what you need to accomplish that goal.” She took this advice and ran with it. Penn started out by turning old clothing in her own house to make accessories like headbands and scarves. At 10, she built her own website to sell her goods online. Her sales took off and she started to get recognized for her eco-friendly mission and success.

Now 24, Penn has since launched an animation studio, given three TED talks, won the 2013 Black Enterprise Teenpreneur of the Year Award, been featured in Forbes magazine (at ten years old), been celebrated by Oprah, and featured in various other magazines and news platforms.

Penn has also been involved in other projects in addition to her fashion brand. In 2016, she animated a short film in an effort to get Congress to consider building a national women’s history museum in D.C. Penn has also launched a nonprofit business which sends eco-friendly sanitary products to women and girls in Haiti, Senegal, Somalia, and more. In addition, Penn has written a book about young entrepreneurship that is being taught in schools across the globe. Her book encourages young students to engage in efforts for the social good, creativity, and innovative entrepreneurship.

Maya’s story is inspiring because she used the materials she had in her home to foster her creativity and sustainable vision for fashion. She has worked from a very young age to care for the environment and for those less fortunate than most and has, as a result, had a widespread influence and many platforms on which to share her story and vision.

Check out Maya’s website here!

Sources:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/meet-16-teen-founders-who-are-building-big-businesses/337852

Maya’s website

Kenan Pala was ten years old when he was running with his dad on a beach. They came across a sick baby seal that people all around were trying to help by providing blankets, calling shelters, notifying nearby park rangers, etc. On the drive home, he saw a sick person on the side of the road, no one helping the individual. This struck him and caused him to reach out to soup kitchens and other nonprofits that address homelessness, but everywhere he turned, he was rejected because of his young age.

Still driven to help improve the lives of homeless people, Pala recruited his family and friends to help him organize and put together volunteer events where people of any age could help, but mostly aimed at giving kids opportunities to volunteer. He called this venture Kids4Community.

One challenge he faced was getting people to come to his events. However, he started posting about his venture on Facebook, social media, and got some press that got filtered through Google. Word of mouth was also a big factor in his business’ growth and popularity. Another challenge was not knowing how to organize successful events, so for some time, volunteers were confused about what they were signing up for or what they were supposed to be doing.

Some of the main events Kids4Community puts on 5ks that raise money for local charities targeting homelessness. They also hosted a back-to-school event that distributed backpacks filled with things like with school supplies, food, clothing, and hygiene kits.

Kenan Pala is inspiring because he experienced a problem and decided it was his mission to provide a solution to that problem. He worked to overcome challenges like lack of attendance and kept problem solving to create a successful and effective nonprofit business.

A boy named Cory Nieves, 6 years old, was tired of taking the bus and wanted to help buy his mom a car. He used a friend’s restaurant to start selling hot chocolate for $1, later adding cookies. He searched for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe for three months, making them with his mom, until he found the perfect cookie. He got positive response from his customers but got shut down for a health code violation – making and selling treats out of a home kitchen.  However, a local bakery got Cory an attorney who helped him and his mom form a legal business and get access to a commercial kitchen. They took their cookies to local festivals and races and pitched to customers their delicious cookies.

As his business grew, Cory was invited onto the Ellen DeGeneres Show which multiplied his orders but created production shortages. He earned a $100,000 cash infusion on CNBC’s The Profit, helping to launch an e-commerce site, hire employees, and ship product all across the country. Mr. Cory’s Cookies now offers 14 flavors and has potential to expand.

Cory’s story is inspiring for multiple reasons. The fact that he started this business at the age of 6 shows his ambition, energy, and love for cookies (and his mom). The initial motivating factor was to buy his mom a car, a bold goal, but one that drove Cory to work hard and push past obstacles like getting shut down due to a health code violation and experiencing a supply shortage. His response to hardships like these shows his entrepreneurial spirit and passion for his business. Although chocolate chip cookies are not a new idea, Cory’s story, spirit, and perseverance allowed him to be successful in a popular market.