To the untrained eye Marc Arthur Zang may seem like your ordinary university IT specialist but that is miles from the truth. Zang is leading the way for techpreneurs all over Africa, demonstrating that we have a duty to help the community. He has invented Cardio Pad; Africa’s first handheld medical computer tablet. Its purpose is to facilitate health workers in rural Cameroon (his home country) with a tool that sends results of cardiac tests to specialists via mobile connection. This will in turn lead to the increase of accessibility of health care for people all over Africa living in non-urban areas. The innovation and by default the entrepreneur have managed to catch the eye of organizations such as Forbes, Rolex Awards, and Time Magazine.
When I heard about him and his invention my first thought was, ‘there isn’t a real need for cardio-pad in rural Cameroon.’ This was a very bad assumption because according to Cameroon’s society of Cardiologists 30% of the country’s 22 million people suffer from high blood pressure. Despite these horrific figures there are less than 50 cardiologists in the country and majority are based in major cities such as Douala and Yaoundé. An encouraging about the invention is that it is patented to ensure it remains authentic as it used across the country and continent. It is currently being sold for $2000 which is a steal compared to the less portable systems that are currently in circulation. How it basically works is the health-care worker will take the reading, send it via internet connection to the national date centre allowing the cardiologist to make the diagnosis. This will save the patient the time and numerous funds it takes to travel to the city in search of medical care. As it stands Zang’s company that manufactures the Cardio Pad –Himore Medical- would like to start selling it commercially to ensure that even more health systems benefit but are having difficulty because of the high cost of manufacturing. This is truthfully African innovation at its best where the standard African is the focal point of the product.
If you want to contribute to this very helpful innovation, join the movement by contributing here https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/saving-africa-from-heart-diseases-with-cardiopad
If you want to contribute to this very helpful innovation, join the movement by contributing here https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/saving-africa-from-heart-diseases-with-cardiopad
