Three female students at Makerere University (MUK) want to help improve female hygiene and have successfully created a vaginal bacteria detecting app which when connected to a test kit, will show you which harmful vaginal bacteria cause bacterial vaginosis and other infections. The team calls it’s self Team Code Gurus and in the above YouTube video they explain how the test kit, known as Her Health BVKit works. It basically, consists of hardware and a software application.
The hardware of this test Kit connects to the smartphone app via Bluetooth to get you the results. You basically place a urine or vaginal discharge sample onto the kit, which will measure your PH values can be sent to the application. PH is a numeric scale used to specify the acidity or alkalinity of an aqueous solution. The app will compare the PH value received to its database and then interpret whether the user has healthy or unhealthy amounts of vaginal bacteria. The application will recommend to seek medical attention if it detects unhealthy levels of bacteria and it won’t stop there it will also recommend you to the nearest doctor or clinic.
The hardware of this test Kit looks like it is not one piece of equipment a normal user can easily have access to, but according to the team’s programmer, Ndagire Esther, the trio would like to work with NGOs and other health facilities to supply rural women with the kit, She explains
“We plan on marketing our application through NGOs, clinics and pharmacies. We hope the NGOs can help us reach rural areas where women who don’t have the opportunity to test their bacteria will be able to use our application.”
In the recent past we have seen several innovative ideas and apps crop up from MUK and other Ugandan Universities. We’ve seen a breast cancer detecting app from BreastIT that aims to help women know whether they are at risk of getting breast cancer. With such innovation and talent among the Ugandan youth, we believe the sky is the limit.
