Adekunle blogs

Group launches data application to boost healthcare

 | Publish Date: Jan 23 2018 5:12PM

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The Africa Artificial Intelligence Blockchain for Healthcare Initiative of   the United States based Insilico Medicine organization will soon launch an application to help Nigerians and other Africans monetize their data and transform the healthcare system.

Briefing newsmen in Abuja, a scientist with the organization, Mr Iraneus Ogu said the application called Longenesis  was aimed at enabling individuals have greater control over the use of their data including medical data.

He said before now, people had little or no knowledge on the potential use of their personal data, or that data maybe used without their knowledge and consent, and with them gaining little or nothing in return.

He added that Longenesis enables people receive some benefits from some of the data they generate and also control how the data is used and by whom.

He said: “Longenesis is built around healthcare and life sciences which are some of the most meaningful things ever. It helps everyone live better lives by ensuring that all medical data in addition to our social data are channelled towards more personalized healthcare.”

The scientist said some companies engaged in drug development and medical devices have been using data from foreign populations to produce products that were not suitable for Africans, adding that the more such developers have access to data from Africa, the easier it would be to make products that were suitable for Africans .

“This is because by using Longenesis our data could now be included in the data used by healthcare product developers such as product development analyses and clinical trials. Longenesis could be considered a breakthrough for data generation as it helps put control of how data is used back in your hands.” Ogu said.

He said aside medicines and devices development, data could be used to improve healthcare through ‘normal values’ which are basically standards used in procedures such as medical diagnosis.

According to him, by 2025 most Africans will be living in cities, with access to the internet and more medical facilities saying that  while it was not an industry now,  personal data management and monetisation was likely to emerge as a lucrative industry for Africans over the next five to 10 years.