by Seyi Lawal

24 year-old Cameroonian engineer, Arthur Zang, has invented the Cardiopad, a touch screen medical tablet that enables heart examinations such as the electrocardiogram (ECG) to be performed at remote, rural locations while the results of the test are transferred wirelessly to specialists who can interpret them. 

The device spares African patients living in remote areas the trouble of having to travel to urban centres to seek medical examinations. 

Zang claims the Cardiopad is the first fully touch screen medical tablet made in Africa. He describes the device as a life saver and puts its reliability as high as 97.5%.  

Radio Netherlands was the first media platform to report the story and they explained how the tablet worked- used as a classical electrocardiograph device. “Electrodes are placed on the patient and connected to a module that, in turn, connects to the tablet. When a medical examination is performed on a patient in a remote village, for example, the results are transmitted from the nurse’s tablet to that of the doctor who then interprets them.”

Zang believes his invention will make heart examinations cheaper especially for locals. The Cardiopad is already generating a lot of interest in African tech and medical circles.