
Ugandan wins Africa prize for bloodless malaria test - vezycash
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-44481723
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simonbyrne
Any details on how it works? There isn't a lot of technical info on the
website:
[http://matibabu.thinkitlimited.com/](http://matibabu.thinkitlimited.com/)

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vezycash
Assuming this device works.

And worries about production, commercialization and raising funds in a VC-less
environment are bothering these guys what advice would you give them?

How would they outsource production or fabrication without large capital?

Can they sell their device for cash and then produce on demand?

I'm asking because once in a while, I read about smart creations from
different African nations. In the interviews, a common complaint is "If we can
get a sponsor..." And that's where their story ends.

Note: African esp. West African transactions is heavily cash based. So
crowdfunding is out of the question?

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zakum1
Actually, East Africa has a vibrant startup and investment scene for both
local and global investors. See, for example,
[http://ventureburn.com/2017/11/everything-you-need-to-
know-a...](http://ventureburn.com/2017/11/everything-you-need-to-know-about-
the-east-african-startup-landscape/). It is worth looking into for talent and
opportunities.

~~~
fapjacks
Yes, absolutely! And everyone in Uganda (and Kenya) has a mobile phone, and a
lot of people use them for payments since banking isn't universal there, and
mobile payments have emerged as a core mechanism for the secure transfer of
funds between people (and also e.g. payments to businesses). The article hints
at this by saying the test results are "ready to be shared to a mobile phone
in a minute". Lots of people focus on Nigeria when talking about the startup
scene in Africa, but I rather think it's East Africa that is in a better
position to foster a tech industry.

~~~
indemnity
As a South African, I find it quite interesting how vibrant East and West
African tech scenes are... it’s very promising.

South Africa is moribund by comparison.

~~~
Semaphor
Also mobile payment are not as widespread. When I was in PTA 2017, the market
I went to just started using zapper and that other similar service. This year
I've even seen menlyn mall stores advertise accepting them

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vezycash
Here's a video of it in action. It looks like a finger print scanner connected
to a phone.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p31LN6IyIrY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p31LN6IyIrY)

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wollstonecraft
This is a pulse oximeter.

~~~
John_KZ
It is. I'm afraid I'll have to side with the cynics until further info is give
on it's principles of operation.

The Plasmodium parasite doesn't seem to have any special characteristics (ie
size, spectral response) that would make it detectable by such a device. You
can skip the sample size issue by assuming the diagnostic will run for hours
or days, but I don't see any theoretical foundation this device could be based
on.

Also the obsession of the website with the smartphone interface is kind of
sketchy and makes it look (more) like a scam to me.

Edit: I looked further into it, the price is given by the royal academy of
engineering. Taken from their website [1]:

" Gitta wins the first prize of UK £25,000 (124 million Ugandan shillings). At
an awards ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya on 13 June 2018, four finalists from
across sub-Saharan Africa delivered presentations, before Africa Prize judges
and a live audience voted for the most promising engineering innovation."

Which means that a live audience of non-technical people were involved in the
choice, and, to my opinion, from the rest of the content, this is a feel-good
kind of competition with soft goals like promoting innovation and training
young people, not the kind of competition that awards working ideas.

[1] [https://www.raeng.org.uk/news/news-
releases/2018/june/uganda...](https://www.raeng.org.uk/news/news-
releases/2018/june/ugandan-innovation-wins-the-africa-prize-for-engin)

~~~
maxerickson
The (short) article makes it clear enough that they aren't targeting the
plasmodium directly:

 _Its red beam can detect changes in the colour, shape and concentration of
red blood cells - all of which are affected by malaria._

So that particular line of cynicism is more illiterate than it is cynical.

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jiminy_john
What's wrong with him expressing his skepticism?! And what makes you entitled
to express harsh opinions?!

Theranos was also looking at only tiny amounts of blood drawn from a finger
prick. And everyone was on that bandwagon, as you are now. And telling the
others to shut-up and not dare to "wrong-think".

~~~
Zofren
I think the difference here is that the person they're responding to doesn't
seem to have read the article they were being cynical towards, otherwise they
would have immediately realized their source of skepticism was directly
addressed. I think you can forgive them for being harsh.

~~~
jiminy_john
It is a valid point. But his skepticism is still warranted. Theranos was also
masquerading as very scientific and was full of laurels. No difference! The
undercurrent is this: "do not dare to express doubts on this African-based
invention, because otherwise you are a racist."

That's why I objected to the "harsh" tone. It is an application of PC
thinking.

~~~
pdpi
The OP said "I'll side with the cynics" and then justified this by describing
how they thought the device would operate — by detecting the plasmodium itself
— and how they thought it was impossible.

The article, however, explains how the actual proposed means of operation is
based on measuring actual symptoms of the illness — observable changes to the
red blood cells — which is at least somewhat compatible with the mechanics of
a pulse oximeter, and, therefore, not entirely unreasonable.

The tone was harsh not because of the cynicism, but because said cynicism was
based on a concern that wouldn't even have been there if the OP had RTFA.

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forkLding
Interesting, wonder if this can substitute for a blood test, my mum often
complained that blood tests (using needles) were hard for my grandma because
her arteries/veins aren't easily spottable and bring a lot of hassle to an old
lady.

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rossdavidh
It is probably mean-spirited of me, but the first thing that passed through my
mind after reading this article is "like Theranos, except in Africa".
Hopefully, I'm wrong, and this will be an amazing game-changing medical device
that saves many lives.

~~~
Waterluvian
I thought the exact same thing but from an optimistic perspective: let's show
Holmes how real scientists, real entrepreneurs practice their craft.

~~~
rossdavidh
That would be an awesome outcome! Also, it occurs to me that by being far away
from a hotbed of hype for investment, the chances of it being looked at
uncritically are less. So hopefully it will be a good comparison.

