Pneumonia death among infants of the five years of age and below in Africa accounts for 16%.(CNN,2017) One of the leading causes of the higher death rates is late or incorrect diagnosis. Even when the diagnosis is made, pneumonia treatment in many sub-Saharan Africa countries will be unavailable.
Thanks to Turbagaye’s biometric smart jacket innovation, diagnosis of pneumonia will be five times faster compared to normal diagnosis by a doctor in a healthcare facility.
The working of the biometric smart jacket is simple. It first analyses the chest and then sends the information via Bluetooth to a Smartphone application. Its working is similar to a stethoscope that many doctors use to diagnose pneumonia in hospitals. But Mama Opes kit innovation will stretch across the entire chest. In the process, it will be surveying all the particular points in the lungs, checking the symptoms of pneumonia.
According to Turyabagye, the innovation will do away with all the flaws that come with the diagnosis of phenomena manually by a doctor. Turbagaye further said that pneumonia tends to be on side points of one’s body, and not just in the chest or back. Since many doctors use a stethoscope for diagnosis, there are greater chances of inaccuracy with the diagnosis.
Since the symptoms of Malaria and pneumonia are similar, Turyabagye’s Mama Opes innovation is made to differentiate between the two. It is to avoid offering the treatment for Malaria when actually the infant is suffering from pneumonia. Turyabagye global ambition is to have the Mama Opes Kit piloted in Uganda’s referral hospitals. He also wishes to see that the innovation is used in remote health centers for easier pneumonia diagnosis.
Turbagaye’s hopes that the project will be successful in Uganda, and in the future it will be rolled out to African countries to reduce the rate of infant deaths.
Photos credit: CNN
By Samson Ogaye
Africa Global News Publication
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