Importance of our work endorsed by Bill Gates
ITW is on a mission to impact 15 million people with diagnostic imaging by 2030. We are a woman-led organisation of experts focused on transforming global health; passionate about reducing the burden of disease and maternal mortality with diagnostic imaging in underserved communities across the world.
Since 2008 we have been developing and using affordable, portable ultrasound equipment and innovative proprietary image compression technology for telemedicine to date pregnancies and detect potential obstetric complications in the most remote locations. Our work and mission are supported and endorsed by philanthropist, tech leader and billionaire, Bill Gates (with our initial seed funding coming from The Gates Foundation) - as seen during his recent interview with Ari Melber on MSNBC's The Beat with Ari.
Watch the interview here where the discussion explores the Gates Foundation's new 2023 'Goalkeepers Report', including efforts to cut maternal mortality and deploy low-cost health technology.
Further points of interest:
369 diseases and injuries are formally recognised by Global Burden of Disease Study; most require medical imaging for surveillance, prevention, diagnosis and optimization of treatment.
90% of citizens in Uganda, Kenya and Malawi live in resource-insecure areas, while 90% of trained workers live in urban areas - critical lack of access to healthcare services.
The UN's Sustainable Development Goal No.3 targets <70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. In Uganda, Kenya and Malawi, maternal disorders are among the top 10 causes of mortality with >350 deaths per 100,000 live births. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for 70% of global maternal deaths.
Through technology innovation and digitalisation we aim to democratize healthcare bringing it ever closer to home across rural Africa and beyond.
Our model uses an obstetric sweeps protocol (OSP) that we described in 2010 – that involves sweeps with the ultrasound transducer across the abdomen while collecting data that includes all of the anatomy of the pregnancy - is already proving to be the perfect foundation for AI-enabled solutions that will further improve access and outcomes in maternal and newborn health.