MSCAN is a Ugandan start-up innovation that was one of the chosen 15 to pitch before a panel of judges in Lagos, Nigeria at the Techcrunch Startup Battlefield Africa. The first-ever Battlefield competition was held in Nairobi, Kenya last year. Several teams are reviewed and only 15 are chosen to pitch before the judges. It won a grand prize of $25,000 and was named Africa’s favourite start-up.
The MSCAN team represented by Innocent and Phyllis Kyomuhendo presented the MSCAN software that can be installed on tablets, laptops and mobile phones that are compatible with it. It is a software that can be used to detect complications in pregnant mothers by use of ultra-sound. The way to use it is by simply applying ultra-sound gel and the ultrasound performed, diagnosis can be done in real-time with your device.
MSCAN wowed both the judges and audience with its potential to scale wide and will thereby help several pregnant mothers prevent death of their children and themselves.
According to the World Health Organisation updates, 19 mothers in Uganda die every day due to pregnancy complications, and 830 mothers die globally for the same reason. These complications that have been the main cause of high infant mortality can often be detected though of ultra-sound, and MSCAN is here to end that sort of narrative. Complications such as placenta around the cervix, and the umbilical cord around the baby’s neck can be done away with.
MSCAN performed its check in Gulu, Northern Uganda and has carried out several outreaches where they were able to detect a goodnumber of complications with their software and tools. The innovators get datafrom health centres that have yet accessed their softwares.
MSCAN told the judges that what impedes their growth is the fact that they sell their software to only trained medical personnel that can use it, other than ordinary people. As such, they are working in partnership with Imaging the World Africa to see to it that more midwives who can use the software are trained so they can scale better.
Their competitors so far are Clarius and Phillips Lumify, which are not at all a threat; Clarius uses the Internet and cannot serve in many low-resource settings of Africa. Phillips Lumify, on the other hand, uses only the 2.0 USB, MSCAN offers a bigger interface which enables better diagnosis.
Congratulations MSCAN!