Kumatoo

December 21, 2011
---
Arthur Zang is a young engineer in computer engineering, from Cameroon, who has developed a touchpad (Cardiopad) for medical use. He was trained in Cameroon at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Polytechnique (ENSP) in Yaounde.



While doing his academic internship at the General Hospital of Yaounde, in 2010, Arthur Zang becomes aware of the difficulties faced by Cameroonians in accessing care related to the heart. Indeed, there are approximately forty cardiologists for about 20 million Cameroonians. However, these cardiologists are often located in the cities of Yaounde and Douala; thus not always easily accessible, especially for patients living in remote cities. It is from this reality that this young engineer of 24 years (in 2011) will consider the design of the Cardiopad.

In practice, the patient is connected to electrodes placed on his heart, which are connected to a module called Cardiopad Acquisition Mobile (CAM) which, via a Bluetooth interface, transmits the heart signal to the Cardiopad after the signal has been digitized. One can then read the heart beats, heart rate, and the intervals between each beat displayed on the Cardiopad, etc. All these data are then stored in a file and sent to the cardiologist's Cardiopad via a mobile telecommunication network.

Mobility and data storage provided by the Cardiopad are two major advantages of the invention. Indeed, the cardiologist may not be in the hospital, but can instantly receive the results of a patient, make a diagnosis and administer the appropriate treatment from his Cardiopad. This is telemedicine.

To achieve this, this brilliant inventor had to design a system for acquiring, processing and transmitting the cardiac signal via a mobile network (GSM for the moment). But he also had to develop a software (Mobile Cardio OCG) which aims at acquiring, amplifying and filtering a patient's heart rate. With no advanced training in electronics, Arthur Zang had to enroll in distance learning with an Indian University in digital electronics and embedded systems courses. At the end of this training he was able to design electronically the Cardiopad touchpad. He had to order the components from China at a cost estimated at about 600,000 CFA francs (about 1,000 Euros). After assembling the various components, Arthur Zang then installed his operating system and software.

The Cardiopad consists of a 10 inches LCD touch screen. However, the inventor plans to provide different sizes based on usage (7, 8 and 9 inches).

If not already done, let's hope that Arthur Zang is in the process of obtaining his patent from the OAPI (African Intellectual Property Organization) and / or WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) in order to protect his invention. Indeed, African inventors must also earn a living with their inventions.