A young Nigerian technology entrepreneur, Charles Onu, the principal innovator behind Ubenwa, a digital health initiative in which he and his team are applying machine learning and mobile technology to provide a portable, affordable, and reliable diagnosis for birth asphyxia. Mr Onu and his team has invented an artificial intelligence system that analyses a baby’s cry to give warning signs of baby asphyxia, which is the third leading killer of infants worldwide.
Ubenwa, which means “baby’s cry”, helps parents and caregivers detect birth asphyxia earlier, without having to wait on doctors.
Birth asphyxia happens when a baby’s brain and other organs do not get enough oxygen before, during or right after birth. It is the third leading killer of infants worldwide.
Ubenwa, an Android app, with an intelligence-based solution which takes an infant’s cry as input, analyses the amplitude and frequency patterns of the cry and provides instant diagnosis of birth asphyxia.
The startup has earned international recognition and is in the final round for the global IBM Watson AI XPRIZE competition, which has a $5 million prize.
Charles Onu, Ubenwa’s founder and principal innovator, says the company is presently conducting clinical validation exercises in Nigeria and hopes to make the service available and free for use.
