Some ICT graduates have picked a lone ticket to represent Cameroon in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates in May 2024. The Team emerged winners of the Cameroon National Pitch competition piloted by AIM Congress and Accelerate Africa, a pan-African movement that fronts efforts aimed at growing and strengthening Cameroon’s economic growth.
The team that finally emerged winner, is made up of Anzia Juvis, Abdoul Azis, Baimam Boukar Jean Jacques and Chendjou Honore. All but one, are former students who were trained at the prestigious ICT University Institute in Cameroon. The winners credit ICTU for properly training them to be able to research and birth the innovative idea that was later realised through hard work.
Team leader, Anzia Juvis
The team presented the project, and product, called Intellibra, which is a device created to seamlessly detect breast cancer at its earliest stage.
Intellibra which won the first spot and the hearts of the jury, is a kit composed of a portable ultrasound imaging system which can be embedded in a bra with a user-friendly mobile application. “The ultrasound device emits waves into breast tissues, captures echoes, and sends the signals to the mobile app. Users can initiate scans, and receive diagnostic insights derived from machine learning algorithms. This comprehensive solution not only facilitates prompt diagnosis but also offers options for medical record storage, sharing, and communication with healthcare professionals. By focusing on accessibility and efficient diagnosis, this initiative aspires to significantly impact healthcare in low- and middle-income countries, potentially saving lives and addressing the challenges associated with breast cancer diagnosis and treatment” the team leader, Anzia Juvis explained.
The contest had over 20 different competing teams that presented different products offering a wide range of solutions to pressing issues in the fields of FinTech, EdTech and climate-related issues.
On how they brought about the winning application, the team leader, Anzia Juvis said “The idea came about during one of our courses in level one, Research Methods in ICT. We were asked to find a major problem in our society and provide an IT solution to this problem. I did my research and found out about the urgency of finding an alternative way to breast cancer detection. Sometime later, a close friend of mine lost his mom because of breast cancer and that gave me a push to further my research till this point”.
Trophy
On what is next after their winning in Cameroon, she said the focus is on winning the grand competition in Dubai, “getting our device recognised by the ministry of health and getting funds to produce our first 100 devices and placing them in different health centres, hospitals (both in rural and urban areas) and intellibra points”, she said.
To her former school, ICT University where the idea was birthed, Anzia Juvis said “The Intellibra was conceived at the ICT University and through different courses like research methods, our programming courses, we got the knowledge needed to build the mobile application, conduct research and advice from some of our instructors and dean helped us move forward in our findings”. She appreciated the part played by the school in helping her realise such potential. The team is the latest from the ICT University to fly the University’s flag high, through outstanding performances and the production of solution-oriented breakthroughs.
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