How medical smart jacket is reducing Pneumonia in Sub-Sahara Africa

MamaOpe, a Medical smart jacket that tackles misdiagnosis of pneumonia. This smart Jacket can detect pneumonia up to four times faster than a doctor. The innovative solution is co-founded by Ugandan born Brian Turyabagye in 2016

In the battle against the illness that kills half a million children under five in sub-Saharan Africa every year, Brian Turyabaye invented Smart Jacket that detects pneumonia with high accuracy. It analyses the chest and then the information is gathered via Bluetooth to a smartphone app.

The series of child deaths caused by pneumonia are reported every year in Africa. Many of those deaths caused by misdiagnosis or late diagnosis, especially 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 of malaria and pneumonia are very similar, so it is difficult for health professionals to differentiate.

The biomedical smart jacket differentiates pneumonia’s symptoms – temperature, breathing rate and the sound of the lungs – and eliminate most human error, diagnosing pneumonia in children aged under 5 years at a rate three to four times faster than a doctor.

It works in a simple way. Once a patient puts it on, a health worker activates a controller unit. After the start button is clicked, the jacket tracks the vital signs of Pneumonia and displays the results after 3 minutes. This low-cost solution it makes the process of diagnosis way faster than the conventional ways currently in use, such as that require a stethoscope may require five or more minutes. It stretches across the chest and side of a patient body. It surveys specific points on the lungs for symptoms of pneumonia.

“Mamaope”, or “mother’s hope” – a reference to the 27,000 children who die of pneumonia in Uganda every year.

The jacket could be a major boon to diagnosing, treating and preventing pneumonia in sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: [TechGistAfrica]