Yaoundé — A young Cameroonian engineer has built the first fully touch screen medical tablet that could soon save many African lives. He first has to find the necessary funding to mass-produce the device.
In a country that has only 30 heart surgeons for more than 20 million people, the dream of Arthur Zang, a 24-year-old Cameroonian engineer, is to facilitate the treatment of patients with a heart disease across Cameroon.
Save lives
In 2010, he created a digital tablet known as Cardiopad: "It's the first fully touch screen medical tablet made in Cameroon and in Africa. It's an invention that could save numerous human lives", explains Arthur Zang.
In fact, Cameroon's thirty heart specialists are all based in either Douala or Yaoundé, the country's economic and political capitals. Heart patients often have to travel across the country for a consultation.
Appointments sometimes must be made months in advance, leading to death of some patients.
Hassle of travelling
The Cardiopad solves this problem by enabling medical examinations to be performed remotely and the results transmitted electronically, saving patients the hassle of having to travel to the city.
Arthur Zang explains that the Cardiopad is above all a scientific project. He started his research three years ago and carried out several scientific tests that were validated by the Cameroonian scientific community. "The reliability of the Cardiopad is 97.5%", he says.
Distance consultation
In practice, the Cardiopad is a device that can perform tests such as the electrocardiogram (ECG). The medical tablet also makes it possible to wirelessly send the results of the tests from remote locations to the specialist who will then interpret them.
"The tablet is used as a classical electrocardiograph device: electrodes are placed on the patient and connected to a module that, in turn, connects to the tablet. When a medical examination is performed on a patient in a remote village, for example, the results are transmitted from the nurse's tablet to that of the doctor who then interprets them.
Digitalised and transmitted
Software built into the device allow the doctor to give computer assisted diagnosis", explains the young engineer.
Pointing out the differences between the Cardiopad and the classical electrocardiograph, Arthur Zang explains: "The Cardiopad has more functions. With the classical electrocardiograph, the results were usually printed on paper and handed to the cardiologist for interpretation.
It wasn't possible to send or save the results electronically. With the Cardiopad, the results are digitalised and transmitted. There is no need to print them, the heart surgeon can interpret them, even remotely, from his tablet and then send the diagnosis and prescribed treatment"
Accessibility
"The Cardiopad will cut down the cost of examination. We intend to sell the device for 1500 euros, while the current price for an electrocardiograph device is 3800 euros. If hospitals purchase the device at a low price, they will be able to lower the prices of medical examinations", Arthur Zang hopes.
However, there is still the issue of energy, as many of the country's remote regions do not have access to electricity. "The Cardiopad is equipped with a battery that can independently power the machine for more than seven hours", the engineer assures.
He further explains that a prototype and sample of device is already available. "We are currently producing the first units of the device which will be available for hospitals before July", says the young engineer who is still looking for funding to mass-produce the Cardiopad. "Besides the funding, I am also looking to start a company to help improve the medical care system in Cameroon", he concludes.
Comments Post a comment
I am always ready to patronize any useful new invention or scientific improvement.I also hope that the media gives the inventor of the Cardiopad praise and exposure.I hope that many will pull their pockets and and assist financially with this scientific investment.This is the type of thing that Black Africa needs.This is the true development of a black people.Peter Carlos Hinds.
Shouldn't the invention have a global appeal rather than colour coding it as an African invention? The invention was discovered by an African with all its technological and scientific qualities. The funny thing about global investors, especially in "venture capital" projects is that once you ascribe a colour to it, the preferential treatments that would have been accorded it pursuant to the Silicon Valley-type inventors, would automatically be minimised. And the article's implicating statements that this would be applicable to saving African lives is in itself an untrue statement. Any invention that saves life should save life, as African lives are no different from European, Asian, Russian or American lives. However, let me be the first to congratulate the young inventor for his accomplishments.
Shouldn't the invention have a global appeal rather than colour coding it as an African invention? The invention was discovered by an African with all its technological and scientific qualities. The funny thing about global investors, especially in "venture capital" projects is that once you ascribe a colour to it, the preferential treatments that would have been accorded it pursuant to the Silicon Valley-type inventors, would automatically be minimised. And the article's implicating statements that this would be applicable to saving African lives is in itself an untrue statement. Any invention that saves life should save life, as African lives are no different from European, Asian, Russian or American lives. However, let me be the first to congratulate the young inventor for his accomplishments.
The world has waited for a long time to see if any good news can come from black Africa. The world has waited for far too long wondering whether the blackman is capable of contributing to the betterment of humanity.
The news of this Cameroonean cardiopad couldn't have come at a better time. We are only waiting to hear if some white superior brain will come forward to challenge the originality of this invention.
If it turns out that the idea and invention is original, all black African countries should rally round this young man and support his invention to mass production.
We heard of ogbunigwe during the Nigeria-Biafra war. The engineers behind the project were either killed or ran to the West for their dear life and Africa has failed to benefit from the ingenuity of these engineers. We hope this can't be repeated in the case of this cardiopad. Africa shouldn't stand akimbo whilst this engineers is whisked to America or Europe where his invention would be put to better use and re-exported to Africa!
This is a good development. We at Africahealthitnews would like to see Africans developing solutions and IT-platforms that would help us to save lives and enhance quality of healthcare in Africa
See All Comments