NIGERIA— Intron Health, a Nigerian healthcare startup, is revolutionizing the digitization of health records by leveraging automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology.
Founded in 2019 by Dr. Tobi Olantunji, a medical doctor turned computer scientist, the company has developed an app that transcribes doctors’ notes in real time while they speak.
Dr. Olantunji initially offered an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system software to healthcare facilities but found that many doctors found it cumbersome and time-consuming to use.
Recognizing the need for a more efficient solution, he drew inspiration from speech-to-text software used by his wife, who is also a doctor.
However, existing platforms failed to accurately transcribe African-accented pronunciations and names.
Determined to address this challenge, the Intron Health team decided to build their own proprietary speech recognition platform.
After evaluating various commercial and open-source frameworks, they chose to develop with NVIDIA NeMo, a software framework for text-based generative AI.
To improve the accuracy and usability of their app, Intron Health collected over a million audio clips from more than 7,000 individuals across 24 countries, including 13 African nations.
This extensive dataset, one of the largest of its kind, has been shared as open-source to support African speech research.
With their transcription app, Intron Health achieves more than 92% accuracy in capturing doctors’ dictated messages across 200 African accents.
This significant time-saving tool has been shown to reduce doctors’ paperwork workload by six times on average, based on an ongoing study conducted across hospitals in four African countries.
In addition to their groundbreaking work in healthcare digitization, Intron Health is fostering collaborations and research in the field of African languages and speech.
Through initiatives like the AfriSpeech-200 developer challenge and partnerships with organizations such as Data Science Nigeria, Masakhane, and Zindi, they aim to explore the clinical applications of African language and speech.
Dr. Olantunji is also committed to promoting diversity and inclusivity in the scientific community. He helped launch the Bio-RAMP Lab, a global community of minority researchers focused on the intersection of AI and healthcare.
The group has already made significant contributions, with several papers currently under review at major conferences.
As part of their journey, Intron Health has received support from the NVIDIA Inception Program for Startups.
This program provides startups with access to cutting-edge technology, expert guidance, networking opportunities with venture capitalists, and co-marketing support.
By leveraging NVIDIA technologies, Intron Health and other participating startups can accelerate their growth and revolutionize AI-driven solutions in various domains.
The NVIDIA Inception Program welcomes startups worldwide and offers benefits such as engineering guidance, technical training, discounts, customer introductions, and exposure to the VC community.
Companies meeting specific criteria may become Premier members, receiving enhanced support and guidance to scale their operations more rapidly.
NVIDIA inception program for startups
The NVIDIA Inception Program serves as a valuable resource for startups, providing them with access to cutting-edge technology, expert guidance from NVIDIA professionals, opportunities to connect with venture capitalists, and co-marketing support to enhance their company’s visibility.
This program supports entrepreneurs worldwide who utilize NVIDIA technologies to accelerate their growth and transform industries such as AI, deep learning, data science, HPC, networking, graphics, AR/VR, and gaming.
Intron Health, a participant in the NVIDIA Inception Program, is leveraging Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology to revolutionize electronic health records (EHRs).
By transcribing doctors’ notes in real-time, Intron Health improves the digitization of health records, streamlining workflows and enhancing efficiency in healthcare.
The Africa Healthtech market is experiencing remarkable growth, driven by the opportunities presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to a report by Quartz Africa, HealthTech investments in Africa reached US$106.7 million in 2020, with 62 funding rounds and accounting for 12% of all disclosed investment rounds.
Investing in Innovation (i3), an exemplary initiative supporting African health supply chain startups, recently announced its first cohort of 30 companies from 14 African countries.
These startups will benefit from a US$7 million fund, propelling innovation and advancements in the healthcare sector.
The adoption of mHealth solutions in Africa, facilitated by over 1 billion mobile phone subscriptions, is a significant driving force behind the region’s HealthTech growth.
Mobile apps, SMS-based health information, and telemedicine platforms are bringing essential healthcare services to remote and underserved populations.
AI and data analytics are revolutionizing healthcare delivery in Africa, enabling early disease detection, patient risk stratification, personalized treatment plans, and efficient health system management.
The demand for affordable, portable, and innovative medical devices is also increasing, as these devices play a crucial role in diagnosing, monitoring, and managing diseases in low-resource settings.
Digital health platforms, including electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine platforms, health information exchanges (HIEs), and health management systems, are emerging as critical enablers of healthcare delivery in Africa.
These platforms facilitate seamless information exchange and improve healthcare access and outcomes across the continent.
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