South African startup Vula Mobile, which connects general health workers in remote areas with specialists in hospitals, is planning on diversifying its offering next year having seen positive uptake of its service targeting eye health.
Disrupt Africa reported earlier this week Vula Mobile, which was developed by Dr William Mapham in 2011 in response to a problem he was facing at work in rural Swaziland, was named among the winners of the first African Entrepreneurship Award.
The company, which earlier this year was also a winner at the MTN Business App of the Year Awards, allows health workers to capture basic patient information, take photographs, do a basic eye test and capture a brief medical history before sending it directly to a specialist. They can ask for advice over a dedicated messaging platform, and decide on the best course of care for the patient.
Eyeing what it describes as the “huge potential” of the global m-health market, Vula Mobile is now focused on expanding its offering into other areas of health next year, and with that in mind recently held a two-day workshop aimed at fast-tracking this process.
The workshop saw a range of partners, investors, mentors and medical professionals look towards the future of mobile health in South Africa and across the globe, with Vula Mobile planning systematic collaboration with various medical professionals across a number of specialities and disciplines.
“In almost every industry, innovation in mobile solutions has offered groundbreaking progress in the fight against outdated and ineffective systems,” Mapham said.
Workshop attendees witnessed a demo of a 3D-printed device designed by Dr Hong Sheng Chiong of Ophthalmicdocs New Zealand. The device allows anyone with a smartphone to view a patient’s optic nerve through the pupil. This is one of the add-ons Vula Mobile believes will revolutionise rural healthcare.
