Jacket would distinguish pneumonia’s symptoms up to four times faster than a doctor, in battle against illness that kills half a million children under five in sub-Saharan Africa every year.
Brian Turyabagye and his team have developed a biomedical kit for early diagnosis and continuous monitoring of pneumonia patients.
Ugandan graduate Brian Turyabagye was studying engineering when his friend’s grandmother fell seriously ill. Accompanying her to hospital, he watched as doctors diagnosed malaria and prescribing various treatments accordingly. Only as she lay dying did they realise their initial diagnosis was wrong. It was pneumonia that was killing her.
Turyabagye, 24, was so shocked by the circumstances surrounding the death that he began researching methodologies for diagnosing pneumonia and its treatments. To his surprise, he discovered that the illness affects far more children than it does adults. According to Unicef, pneumonia kills half a million children under five in sub-Saharan Africa every year, with the region accounting for half of all global deaths from pneumonia of children under five.
“Many of those deaths are because of misdiagnosis,” says Turyabagye. “In the villages and remote areas, children get sick – and the first reaction is to treat them for malaria. Most people are aware of malaria, and the signs for malaria and pneumonia are very similar, so it is difficult for health professionals to differentiate.”
Even when a correct diagnosis is made, treatment is often unavailable. According to the Uganda Paediatrics Association, fewer than 20% of children with pneumonia receive antibiotics, which cost less than $1 (£81p).
So Turyabagye began designing a biomedical smart jacket that would distinguish pneumonia’s symptoms – temperature, breathing rate and sound of the lungs – and eliminate most human error, diagnosing pneumonia at a rate three to four times faster than a doctor.
He named it “Mamaope”, or “mother’s hope” – a reference to the 27,000 children who die of pneumonia in Uganda every year.
The Android app that accompanies the Mamaope jacket.
“We focused on the distinguishing signs of pneumonia,” says Turyabagye. “One of the processes that most doctors use is a stethoscope to the check the lungs. But [pneumonia] tends to be on side points around the body, not just in the chest or back. Its accuracy of being able to diagnose what is healthy, and what is not, is very encouraging.”
Currently a prototype, the Mamaope jacket will undergo an official national medical examination in January. Certification for use in health centres and hospitals is expected by spring.
The jacket could be a major boon to diagnosing, treating and preventing pneumonia in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite international progress tackling measles, HIV and Aids and tetanus, funding towards eradicating pneumonia remains extremely low: for every dollar spent on global health in 2011, Unicef says, only two cents went to pneumonia.
“Although sub-Saharan Africa accounts for half of pneumonia deaths among children under five worldwide, funding for pneumonia prevention, management and treatment in the region remains low,” according to Mark Young, senior health specialist for Unicef.
“More resources and more commitment at the highest level will bring us closer to stopping this disease from being a major child killer.”
The Mamaope jacket was shortlisted for this year’s £25,000 Africa prize for engineering innovation, and Turyabagye hopes this could jumpstart mass production of the jacket for use across the continent.
“Really, we are looking to help the next generation,” he says. “Pneumonia has such a high rate in Uganda and our neighbouring countries, if we were able to distribute in those countries we could save a lot of people.”
Originally reported by the Guardian.
—
Remember, no problem has a quick fix solution. Thus, always ensure to consult highly knowledgeable group of professionals whom would provide you with a collective advice, never individual advice. This group advice and approach is unique with CWIIL Group and is based on the overall Management Philosophy of all CWIIL Group Companies.
Consulting CWIIL Group of Companies, for any / all investment matters ensures advice based on highest level of knowledge which are given to you by a team of select research-oriented experts whom each will do their own assessment of your matter, and also assess it together, thus ensuring that in case a mistake has been made by one, it will be noticed and corrected even before it is being passed on to you. Receiving incorrect and un-knowledgeable investment advice can be disastrous and thus should be avoided.
CWIIL Group of Companies is a global group of multi-specialized units with diversified interests and activities, wherein each company is a separate legal entity registered under prevailing laws in different parts of the world. CWIIL Group of Companies Products, Services, Project and Solutions are in a multitude of Verticals including, but not limited to, Infrastructure, Power, Oil & Gas, Legal, Media, Technology, ITES, HR, Shipping, Aviation, Real Estate, Hospitals, Health and Medicine, Education, Funding & Investment, Business and Legal Consultancy, and Public Private Partnerships, and other CWIIL Group Units, worldwide, to name a few.
For Queries Feel Free to Contact :
Mr. Mohammad Mukhtar Mustafa,
Deputy Global Director, No. 4,
Strategic Business & Intelligence Division,
Email : deputy.gd.4@cwiilgroup.eu
Voice : +45.8176.1923
Connect : LinkedIn – Twitter – Facebook – Quora
For Queries Specific to Africa :
Email : africa@cwiilgroup.com , hq@cwiilgroup.eu
Web : www.cwiilgroup.com , www.cwiilgroup.eu
For Any / All Other Queries :
CWIIL Group Global Regional Headquarters Denmark,
Address : No. 1, Klokkebjergevej, DK6900 Skjern, Denmark
Voice : +45.5148.3608
Fax : +45.7014.1498
Email : corpcomm@cwiilgroup.eu
Web : www.cwiilgroup.eu
Connect : LinkedIn – Twitter – Facebook – Quora
Office Hours :
Monday to Friday : 10.00 – 17.00 CET.
Saturday : 10.00 – 14.00 CET.
Sunday : Closed.
The Corporate Communications Team would require minimum a fortnight for Reviewing & Responding to Queries, which please note.
CWIIL Group Africa Operations 
You must be logged in to post a comment.