THE BIOMEDICAL SMART JACKET THAT DIAGNOSES PNEUMONIA USING BLUETOOTH

Mwikirize Cosmas at the University of Makerere in Uganda, Turyabagye and his team created Mama-Ope, a biomedical smart jacket that rapidly increases the accuracy and speed of diagnosing pneumonia. The technology is similar to a stethoscope. It stretches across the whole chest and the side of a patient's body. It surveys specific points on the lungs for symptoms of pneumonia, characterised by a swelling of the lungs caused by infection.

The jacket is connected to a mobile phone app via Bluetooth which sends, records and analyses the medical data, ready for a healthcare professional to make an informed diagnosis. According to UNICEF, pneumonia kills half a million children under five each year in sub-Saharan Africa. In response, Turyabagye and Koburongo began formulating ideas about how to tackle the ongoing problem. They consulted medical experts to understand the specific symptoms of the disease.