Ubenwa

Digital health startup Ubenwa is building an AI-powered diagnostic tool to identify hard-to-diagnose neurological disorders in infants. The software identifies early signs of birth asphyxia caused by a lack of oxygen in the brain and organs, and the firm had plans to develop the technology to identify congenital heart disease.

The diagnosis is made by using the firm’s machine learning software to decipher a baby’s cries to determine if it falls within the range of having signs of a neurological condition. Co-founder and Leader Charles Onu stated that the medical app detected asphyxia with an accuracy of 88%. The firm also had plans to integrate its technology into baby monitors in the longer term.

As of August 2022, the consumer app was available to patients as a beta test. The consumer app will allow parents to track cry habits, understand cry triggers, insights on cry patterns, and share data with their doctors. The recordings are not collected and stored, but are instead matched against an existing database to detect abnormalities. The company had plans to apply for FDA and Health Canada approvals for its medical app.

Key customers and partnerships

As of July 2022, doctors from six hospitals were using the Ubenwa app as part of a clinical study. In addition to its operations in Canada, the firm is also present in Nigeria and Brazil.