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Innovative asthma warning system earns University of Pretoria student an award

KebalepileAn innovative, life-saving, early warning system for asthma sufferers developed by a young South African doctoral student has earned him first place at an international competition. Moses Kebalepile, a South African innovator, has walked away with this year’s top prize at the international pitch-fest held in Zurich, Switzerland.

Moses is a PhD student at the faculty of health sciences, University of Pretoria, who through his doctoral studies has invented a medical diagnostic instrument called the Asthma Grid. The Asthma Grid is an early warning system that predicts threats of imminent asthma attacks. In this way, asthma sufferers and their primary caregivers will not be caught by surprise when an episode of asthma happen and therefore unnecessary asthma deaths can be prevented.

Asthma is a respiratory ailment, and South Africa has one of the highest asthma related deaths in the world, affecting people between the ages of 5 to 35 years-old. Of the more than 4m South Africans suffering from this ailment-a form of bronchitis cause by allergic inflammation, 1,5% die from this condition annually.

The pitch-fest takes place under the Swiss-South African Venture leaders Programme (SSAVP). The programme is a framework providing motivation, entrepreneurial know-how and support to scientists from both countries while contributing to strengthen the cooperation between industries of South Africa and Switzerland.

[link url="http://allafrica.com/stories/201612220397.html"]SA government material[/link]

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