Cameroonian inventor-Arthur Zang, has won the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

Arthur Zang from Cameroon - has won the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. He invented the CardioPad, a touch screen medical tablet that enables heart examinations to be performed from remote areas‚ sparing patients from rural or outlying areas the trouble of travelling to urban centres for medical examinations.

Arthur's Cardio-Pad impressed the judges in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania tonight, where the finalists pitched in front of a live audience:“The Cardio-Pad should allow quick, low cost, cardiac illness detection and monitoring in rural villages and towns, addressing a huge African health challenge. His business plan is sound and his innovation could improve quality of life for millions of Africans," said head judged Malcolm Brinded.

We are extremely proud to announce that the second winner of the Africa Prize is Arthur Zang from Cameroon!Malcolm Brinded

In Cameroon‚ where there are roughly 50 cardiologists for 22-million citizens‚ Arthur Zang combined medical diagnostics with customised software and hardware to change the way rural Africans access heart doctors. The Cardio-Pad earned Zang a place in the finals for its ability to conduct cardiovascular diagnostics from anywhere in the world. A Cardio-Pad tablet‚ much like an iPad‚ is designed to be connected to a heart patient for tests conducted by ordinary doctors or nurses in rural areas. The results are sent to a cardiologist via a cellular network‚ and a diagnosis returned within 20 minutes.

The Africa Prize encourages ambitious and talented sub-Saharan African engineers from all disciplines to apply their skills to develop scalable solutions to local challenges, highlighting the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and economic development. Crucial commercialisation support is awarded to a shortlist of innovative applicants through a six-month period of training and mentoring.