A 24 year old engineer has been awarded the 2016 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation for creating a telecare device that could help save lives.

Arthur Zang from Cameroon received a prize of £25,000 from the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK at a ceremony in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania last week for his winning design the Cardio Pad. The Cardio Pad is a tablet that enables health workers to perform a 12-sensor Electrocardiogram for people in their own home and then send the findings via mobile phone to a Cardiologist miles away. An experienced heart surgeon can then analyse the data and report back their findings along with any treatment or health recommendations.

Cameroon has a stark shortage of Cardiologists with only about 50 cardiologists for a population of 20 million according to BBC statistics, making it particularly difficult to access appointments and especially if the patient has mobility problems. Already being purchased across the world, the Cardio Pad has experienced a boom in his own country and is set to be a fascinating step forward in the growing sector that is telehealth.

According to the Royal Academy of Engineering’s website the Africa prize “…encourages ambitious and talented sub-Saharan African engineers from all disciplines to apply their skills to develop scalable solutions to local challenges, highlighting the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and economic development. Crucial commercialisation support is awarded to a shortlist of innovative applicants through a six-month period of training and mentoring.”

Cost?

… $29.00 in annual subscription per patient, is what we’re being told by the BBC. So what do you think? Worth it?

To find out more about telehealth remember to look at Blackwood's ongoing Clever Cogs trial. Click here to find out more.