Srivastava Niraj et al / Int. J. Res. Ayurveda Pharm. 8 (Suppl 1), 2017 57 Research Article www.ijrap.net BASICS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOTYPE RESEARCH SOFTWARE RELEVANT TO INFANTS’ PRAKRITI ASSESSMENT FOR VIKRITI MANAGEMENT AND POSSIBLE FUTURE DISORDERS Srivastava Niraj 1 *, Singh Praguna 2 , Gehlot Sangeeta 3 , Singh Sanjay 4 , Singh B.M. 5 1 PhD Scholar, Department of Kaumarbhritya/Balroga, Faculty of Ayurveda, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, India 2 Final year student (B.Tech. Computer Science), MIT, Manipal, Karnataka, India 3 Department of Kriya Sharir, Faculty of Ayurveda, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, India 4 Department of Computer Science, IIT, BHU, Varanasi, India 5 Department of Kaumarbhritya/Balroga, Faculty of Ayurveda, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, India Received on: 02/01/17 Accepted on: 20/02/17 *Corresponding author E-mail: nirajimsbhu@gmail.com, praguna14@gmail.com DOI: 10.7897/2277-4343.08139 ABSTRACT Prakriti (physical and mental constitution) is a unique and one of the basic concepts of Ayurveda that explains the individuality. It is decided at the time of conception, and subsequently nourished during the intrauterine life. A careful assessment of Prakriti after excluding similar Vaikrit features and consideration of various Prakriti influencing factors not only takes lot of time but also needs good memory. This study was planned to project the concept and stepwise methodology essential for the development of PRS-IPA software to save the time, reutilization of stored data for individualized management and prevention of forthcoming disorders. Platform used for the development of the software is Microsoft Visual Basic 2010, Express Edition, which is a part of Visual Studio 2010 package, while the Microsoft excel sheet 2007 is used for the storage of data. Clicking ‘About Software’ button on homepage displays the details about the software viz. basic structure of software, minimum system requirements and operational guidelines for the users/research scholars. Clicking Submit button leads us to the actual software. The developed software is a complete package for helping users/pediatricians in analyzing infants’ Prakriti. It also assists in differentiating physiological features from the pathological features through basic analysis for writing the management and forecast the possibility of future disorders. The result of data shall be very expedient in developing more efficient and accurate infant’s Prakriti labelling advance software by the research scholars. Keywords: Prakriti, Infants, PRS-IPA (Prototype Research Software for Infants’ Prakriti Assessment) INTRODUCTION At the present time, many centuries’ old Ayurvedic concepts are being brought to use in all parts of the world. One such Ayurvedic concept is Prakriti determination and after differentiating from the Vikriti, it can be used for diagnosis 1 , management of disease 2 and forecast the proneness for future disorders 3 . Knowledge of Prakriti can guide the parents also for prevention 4 of expected disorders in their children. Prakriti is a unique, but definite unchangeable traits manifested in persons and individualize them. This is mainly decided by a permanent configuration of Dosha at the time of conception and differs individual to individual. These specific types of Doshika Prakriti can be identified in growing individuals 5 . The word Prakriti means constitution 6 and referred in many contexts, while the Vikriti is a Vikara (pathological manifestation) 7 , a change of nature, alteration or deviation from any natural state of body or mind 8 . It is very clear that when Tridosha quantitatively or qualitatively are not in perfect state of equilibrium in the body may present various abnormal clinical features termed as Vaikrita Dosha and finally lead to Vikara in the body 10 . It is well-established concept that an individual of single Dosha Prakriti frequently falls sick i.e. more vulnerable to various diseases, while Samyawastha (equilibrium state) of Tridosha in an individual result in healthy state 11 . The knowledge about the Prakriti is prerequisite for the assessment of Vikriti (pathology) hence it plays a very important role in deciding diagnosis, therapeutics and prognosis 12 . So, the purpose of this research software is to project the concept and step wise methodology which is essential for the assessment of Prakriti of infants. The objectives of this design are- 1. To ease the stress of Kaumarbhritya expert (Paediatrician) in determination of Prakriti of infants after differentiating analogous Vaikrita features for individualized management and prevention of forthcoming Prakriti prone disorders. 2. To ease the user’s stress during recording and storage of data of healthy infants at registration and on subsequent follow ups. 3. To create infants’ record database using excel (MS office) and other auxiliary facilities MATERIALS AND METHODS Platform used for development of the software is Microsoft Visual Basic 2010, Express Edition, which is a part of Visual Studio 2010package and can run in higher version too. The components and various methods 13,14,15-23 used for developing the software are: