An African inventor created a Biomedical Smart Jacket that can detect pneumonia. The inventor affirms that this Smart Jacket will save many lives, as its detection range is faster than that of doctors.
This Smart Jacket is the response to the pneumonia problem in Africa.
Brian Turyabaye is the mastermind behind Mama-Ope, the Biomedical Smart Jacket that detects pneumonia with high accuracy. It analyses the chest, and then the information is gathered via Bluetooth to a smartphone app.
Nevertheless, Mr Turyabaye is originally from Uganda, and he is aware of how deadly pneumonia is. This deadly condition is responsible for 16% of all deaths of children under five due to slow diagnosis.
Moreover, Mr Turyabaye told CNN how his business partner, Olivia Kuburongo, lost her grandmother to pneumonia; the lady received the wrong diagnosis of malaria, and then the prognosis reports showed she had pneumonia instead.
Also, Turyabaye says misdiagnosis of malaria is really common in Africa.
Furthermore, there are reports showing the deaths to children caused by this condition by UNICEF, the NGO writes that half a million children under five die in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Now, this invention started as a small project by Turyabaye and Kuborongo; they had a lot of research with the support of medical experts to understand what they were dealing with.
Then, with the help of his tutor, Mwikirize Cosmas at the University of Makerere in Uganda, and a hardworking team, Turyabaye created Mama-Ope, the biomedical smart jacket.
Further, Mama-Ope means the Hope of the Mother, due to the high infant death rates in Uganda, where approximately 27,000 children die of pneumonia. This is a jacket that measures body temperature, heart rate and lung condition.
More specifically, a Stethoscope is often compared to this technology. It stretches across the chest and side of a patient’s body. It surveys specific points on the lungs for symptoms of pneumonia.
Moreover, pneumonia is characterised by lung swelling caused by infection.
Again, a mobile phone app functions with the Smart-Jacket to send, record, and analyse medical data.
This invention has recognition worldwide, and it won a prize for African entrepreneurs.
Finally, the biomedical jacket, though only in its prototype phase, will be beneficial to the entire world once it is finally out to the public.
This invention will save many live and it will bring hope to communities in need.
Want to read more about African inventions? Check out this article.
