MUMBAI, India, Oct. 5 -- Intellectual Property India has published a patent application (202641115346 A) filed by Sri Eshwar College Of Engineering on September 24, 2026, for Nilacare Ai - Ai-Powered Phase-Aware Maternal Mental Health Screening And Support System With Conversational Interface For Postpartum Depression Detection.
Inventors include Ms. M. Sowmiya; and Ms. V. Kirubashini.
The application for the patent was published on October 02, 2026, under issue no. 40/2026.
Abstract: NilaCare is a mental health service for mothers designed with real-life situations in rural India in mind. It enables mothers to talk freely, either in Tamil or English, by simply using their voice and without the need to download an app; the system determines the stage of a woman's journey which is the phase where she is, whether she is trying to conceive, pregnant or in the postpartum period, and adjusts each response accordingly. When carrying out the screening for postpartum depression, Nilacare goes through the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) as part of a soft conversation rather than as a clinical test. In the background, an XGBoost model converts the responses into a clear risk rating which can be described as low, medium, or high and it explains the result in plain language by means of SHAP, so that both users and providers can see the factors that led to the assessment. In order to ensure that its advice is trustworthy, NilaCare bases itself on well-established guidelines, including the WHO's postnatal care recommendations and the NIMHANS (the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) mental health protocols. To link its responses to these sources, it employs a retrieval-augmented system and, when appropriate, provides users with direct access to approved crisis hotlines. Nilacare seeks to make maternal mental health care more accessible, less stigmatising, and truly useful to mothers who frequently fail to receive it by combining vernacular access that is voice-first, early detection of postpartum depression, and culturally sensitive support.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
