It’s 8 o’clock in the morning. The Kigali Convention Centre is already buzzing. Drivers are dropping off visitors. More cars are pulling into the parking lot, while a steady stream of arrivals is making its way through security. In the hallway, I see handshakes galore and business cards changing hands.
I am here for the Africa HealthTech Summit, a gathering that brings together people working at the intersection of healthcare and technology. As I look around, I realize I am stepping into a world that is fairly new to me. I am familiar with FinTech, but I can't say the same about HealthTech. And then there is this thing called AI. It seems like there is no escaping this animal. It is everywhere now.
I decide to do what I usually do when I am in unfamiliar territory: walk around and see what I can learn. I am curious to see what is happening here and what this gathering can teach me about the changing world of healthcare.
That curiosity leads me to something that looks like a booth or a sophisticated kiosk. Someone is stepping onto a machine while one of the attendants taps away at the screen, entering some information.
I ask what is happening, and I am told that the person is undergoing a medical examination. Before my mind can fully register that, the attendant clicks something on the machine and a sheet of results comes out. It is handed to the person who has just been examined. Is it really that simple? I need to get tested too.
The results slip contains a lot of information, but it is surprisingly easy to understand. My BMI, body temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, and eyesight are all there. Then it gets even more interesting. The machine has analyzed my body fat, visceral fat, body water, muscle mass, bone mass, basal metabolism, and a whole lot more. For example, my blood pressure is shown alongside an indication of what is considered normal. In about a minute, I have a clear snapshot of what is going on inside my body.
The technology is being brought to Rwanda by Digita Africa, a company introducing a very different approach to basic health screening. After seeing the machine in action and trying it myself, I can understand why this AI-powered innovation is getting attention.
This is not a distant vision of what healthcare might look like one day. It is technology working right here, right now, making basic health screening faster and easier. I came to see what the future of healthcare looks like. Turns out, the future is already here. Welcome to the future.