Four Kenyan students from the United States International University (USIU) walked away with Ksh12.5 million cash prize following their sterling performance in Microsoft Imagine World Cup.
The competition had been organized by the Microsoft Corporation and attracted two million applicants.
Microsoft Imagine World Cup management said that the four students – Dharmik Karania, Jeet Gohil, Khushi Gupta and Abdihamid Ali – came up with a unique innovation dubbed Remote Well Baby (REWEBA).
REWEBA is digital equipment that monitors the growth of babies and sends results to doctors in case of an abnormality.
“It combines machine learning, IoT and data analytics to screen infants, mimicking postnatal screening that takes place in a hospital,” a description of the technology from Tech Republic reads.
The fourth-year computer science students won Ksh7.5 million ($75,000) for the invention and a further Ksh5 million ($50,000) Microsoft Azure grant.
They also secured a mentoring session with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Speaking of the innovation, Gupta stated that they wanted to lower child mortality rates.
“Africa has the highest number of [infant mortalities], highlighting the gap in healthcare services. REWEBA is the only remote healthcare solution that provides regular growth monitoring for infants from the comfort of the home, while also giving direct access to doctors for immediate intervention,” stated Gupta.