Conrad Tankou is a Cameroonian doctor who is trying to enhance the quality of life of disadvantaged women with breast and cervical cancer by using a smartphone-based service for early diagnosis instead of expensive scanning gear.
Dr. Tankou was assigned to a small Cameroonian village after completing his medical studies, where he spent the majority of his time caring for patients suffering from illnesses such as malaria and dysentery. According to a report by bird story agency, a woman came to his clinic six years ago with abdominal discomfort.
Tankou suspected cervical cancer after evaluating her and requested that she undergo more testing. After the testing, he learned that his suspicions were correct. He had to figure out a way to help the patient in a hurry. His community’s healthcare facilities were in a bad state.
When it comes to early treatment for cervical cancer, Tankou said that just 5% of women at risk of developing the disease are being checked consistently and successfully.
When I couldn’t supply my patients with the most basic relief they were looking for, I asked myself, “What am I doing here?” Because of the difficulty of being a doctor, I believe that you must do everything in your power to help your patients. Rather than harping on what’s wrong and calling attention to it, attempt to find a way to fix it.
He created a smartphone-based cervical cancer early detection program to give underprivileged people in his neighborhood new hope after they had suffered from breast and cervical cancer for so long. An app and other portable equipment of their design were created by him and a team of collaborators, including a smart speculum, a smartphone-digital microscope, and a biopsy device, according to the bird.
For his Gicmed innovation, “a trained operator” may study and communicate “the photographs and data it has taken” to specialists “anywhere in the globe,” he explained.
Typically, the diagnosis is supplied within 24 hours, when multi-million dollar scanners would have taken many weeks to deliver the same results. So far, the doctor has tested his innovation on more than 10,000 women in 23 outlying medical facilities. As far as he’s concerned, the response has been positive.
Bomono is a 15-minute drive north of Douala and has received positive comments from ladies in the neighborhood. For the first time, women were able to see an image of their cervix thanks to the smartphone. He explained that by comparing it to an image of a healthy cervix, women may obtain an impression of their overall health.
The international committee was just made aware of his invention and is now looking into it. He won the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge 2021 and received a $50,000 prize as a result of his efforts. In addition, he won the African Health Innovative Challenge, which aids in the advancement of potential health care solutions.
After a series of clinical testing, his innovation is scheduled to go into production.
