Philippa Ngaju Makobore, ABEC contact point at UIRI, was awarded as outstanding African Innovators by the African Innovation Foundation (AIF). In the sixth edition of the Innovation Prize for Africa  (IPA) organized by AIF, out of the total of over 2500 applications, 10 nominees were selected, and from these, Philippa won the Second Prize.

The Electronically Controlled Gravity Feed Infusion Set (ECFG) by Philippa, who bagged the Second Prize of US$ 25 000, is designed to accurately administer intravenous (IV) fluids and drugs by controlling the rate of fluid flow based on feedback from a drop sensor. The ECGF has the potential to save lives by providing accuracy and safety at 8% the cost of a brand new infusion pump. 

It is easy to operate and has key safety features, which include alarms for rate of infusion (rapid or slow), total volume (over or under) and faulty sensors. A battery utilizing a hybrid (AC mains and solar) charging bed powers the device. IV infusions are critical for both adults and children in various situations. Over 10% of children admitted to East African hospitals need immediate infusion therapy. Findings from the FEAST trial indicates that over-infusion in children increased the absolute risk of death by 3.3 % at 48 hours. Erroneous delivery rates can result into serious adverse effects. Proud of you Philippa! For more information, click here

The Innovators’ Summer School (ISS) is an initiative of UNECA (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa), and annually organized by ABEC. The ISS 2015 programme will focus on building the technical skills of students from 13 African universities on the application of mobile telephony in the design of medical devices. At the end of the programme, students and researchers would have been empowered with modern critical skills and techniques on how to enable smartphone to serve as a life-saving medical device.

Smartphones are multi-use multi-capability devices that are increasingly affordable, and have been used in Africa to promote financial inclusion. Mobile phones present enormous possibilities in the healthcare sector in terms of connectivity, visualization, sensors, storage, etc.

With the introduction speech of Dr. Rushdi, the ISS 2016 takes start at the Sofir Hotel in Cairo. It will be a fantastic week focused on the use of big data in medicine and biomedical engineering. Stay tuned!

Here you can find the complete program. 

Dear participants,

 the results of the second stage of ABEC Design competition 2019 are online! For the 40 best-ranked projects full-board will be provided for one team member to attend the ABEC Design School 2019 to be held at Uganda Industrial Research Center in Kampala, Uganda, from 7th to 11th October 2018. For the first 28 projects developed by teams from African Institutions, travel grant, from one team member, will be also awarded.

Priority for enrollment will be given accordingly to the final ranking, up to a total of 40 participants. All the participants will be personally contacted by our Management Office, for detailed instructions, regarding travel and accommodation. Finally, we will invite ALL of you to participate in the UBORA e-infrastructure to further develop your projects, which will take you through the design, classification and fabrication process. You will be able to co-create with other designers with the help of mentors from industry and academia. We hope to count on you as pioneers for the design of safe medical devices to enable access to quality healthcare for all.