Point-of-care Ultrasound (POCUS) Device Utilisation at the Edge in Lower and Middle Income Countries

Abstract

Summary form only given, as follows. A complete record of the tutorial workshop was not made available for publication as part of the conference proceedings. The genomics revolution in Africa began almost a decade ago to identify genetic and environmental determinants of human disease and wellness. This momentum is accelerating to advance science globally through large initiatives on the continent of Africa, for example, Human Hereditary and Health in Africa (H3Africa), Data Science Initiative for Africa (DSI-Africa), African Open Science Platform (AOSP), and the recent call by the Wellcome Trust (WT) for the setting up African Population Cohort Consortia (APCC) amongst others. All these efforts are aimed at transforming “data-poor Africa” into a data-rich Africa. We want to tackle multiple SDGs, centered on health and wellness and climate change, for effective policy implementation for maximum impact. To harness these opportunities, we will leverage cutting-edge technologies and innovative methods to deliver better tools for disease diagnosis and prognosis; and novel targeted treatment and prevention that is suitable for LMICs settings. This talk highlights real-life examples and challenges for incorporating handheld or point of care ultrasound (POCUS) device data into routine healthcare and research participant surveillance, and the opportunities for application of deep learning/AI for aiding clinical decision making leveraging the emerging Mobile fog computing (MFC) approaches.