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Seven Questions with Hamzah Selim

30 January 2019

First year UCL medical student, Hamzah Selim, found himself at the centre of a news story last month when he helped deliver a baby at Warren Street tube station. He's also the creator of an app to help evaluate dementia symptoms. He almost didn't end up studying medicine though!

Student H Selim

What are you studying, why are you interested in this subject and what do you plan to do in the future?
I almost didn’t end up studying medicine because I got rejected from most of the places I applied to, LOL. I think that’s because I believe medicine is much more an art than a science i.e. I think it’s more about how you deliver care rather than the kind of care. This complex, very human element of medicine is what inspired me to create an app that can help diagnose dementia.

I was volunteering as an OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) patient and saw that examiners performed varying neurological examinations on the same set of symptoms, resulting in differing diagnoses and inconsistent care. This was not a fault of the examiners but the fact that neurological diseases are just complex and hard to diagnose. So, inspired by Dr Atul Gawande’s book Checklist Manifesto, which advocates how success in medicine comes through standardisation and organisation, myself and a group of students developed an app to aid in the delivery of neurological examination. As we translated clinical diagnostic tests onto an app we realised that by introducing machine-learning algorithms to analyse the captured data, the app transformed into a clever screening tool with a diagnostic accuracy of 80%.
 
Mindset (www.mindsetapp.co.uk) is now an IOS application which can swiftly and sensitively evaluate dementia symptoms by conducting established diagnostic tests through the many features of the latest iPhone models. By building on Apple’s ResearchKit platform the app is both very accessible and able to deliver simple, effective care at the tap of a button. We hope to trial v2.0 at the UCL and Imperial College healthcare centres come late February. The goal right from the start has been (and still is) to create a tool that can empower doctors and improve the quality of care for all dementia patients.  I hope to trial the app with a couple of neurologists next month!
  
What is the most interesting thing you’ve done, seen or got involved with while at UCL?
The incredible RUMS football club have welcomed me into their society with open arms. I love kicking-off every Wednesday with a football game and then ending the day with some casual pints at Mully’s.
   
Have you discovered any hidden gems during your time at UCL?
My favourite person on campus is the lady that works at the Cruciform café. Not only does she make peng coffee but she provides excellent chat to go with it.
 
Give us your top three things to do/see/go to in London:
A Wednesday in The Slug at Fulham.
Ice skating at the South Kensington rink.
Slack-lining in Richmond Park.

If you were Provost for the day what one thing would you do
Move CPP from a Thursday morning to any other day of the week.
 
Who inspires you and why?
My little sister is an incredible human. Rightfully, her hilarious chat and genuine kindness make her the favourite child in our family.
 
What would it surprise people to know about you?
I grew up in Germany, and though my Grandma and language teachers may beg to differ, I can actually speak fluent German.