Tech Spotlight: Ugandan Students Win Award For Pregnancy Scan Machine
Aaron Tushabe, Joshua Okello and Josiah Kavuma invented WinSenga (Win for Windows and Senga is the Luganda word for auntie…). Whilst Aaron Tushabe was Working at the Mulago Hospital in Uganda during a break before university he was struck by the crowds and the suffering, not only about those who were waiting in the long lines but the 80 percent of Ugandans who live in rural areas and can’t make the trek to the capitol for medical care.
He was determined to find a way to help. Months later, he met fellow sophomores Joshua Okello and Josiah Kavuma. Their collective experience with maternal health and maternity wards led them to seek a solution for women in their community. The result was WinSenga, a handheld device that can scan a pregnant woman’s womb and report fetal weight, position, breathing patterns, age, and heart rate.
It uses a plastic trumpet-shaped device, similar to the Pinard horn, and a microphone. The information is transmitted to a smart phone and into the mobile application that plays the part of the nurse’s ear and recommends a course of action. The analysis and recommendations are uploaded to the cloud and can be accessed by a doctor anywhere to track progress at any time. WinSenga has saved lots of women.
They hope WinSenga can get to other developing nations with similar problems. It has helped most women in rural areas in Uganda.
Great work guys!
Photo/Story Credit: Forbes
