Twenty-four-year-old phenom Brian Gitta invented a device that detects malaria through a beam of light shone on a patient’s finger. After having four blood tests, which all failed to diagnose his own malaria, Gitta put his engineering mind to work and invented an alternative that could help savemillions of lives.
Gitta calls his breakthrough device Matibabu, which means “treatment” in Kiswahili. The device clips onto a patient’s finger and can be operated by the patient without the assistance of a medical professional. It provides a road to speedily addressing malaria when it develops in vulnerable populations in particular.
To learn more about Gitta’s brilliance, the many prestigious awards he has won, and how African genius continues to light the way, click below.