By MUHAMMAD NASIR BASHIR

The Federal University Dutse (FUD), Jigawa, says its staff, Dr Salihu Ibrahim, has developed a software application for early detection of diabetes and breast cancer.

The institution’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), Alhaji Abdullahi Yahaya, made the disclosure in a statement in Dutse on Friday.

Yahaya said that Ibrahim, who is the Head of the Medical Biochemistry Department, said diabetes and breast cancer were major diseases ravaging Nigeria and Africa.

He explained that the HOD, who is a renowned phytomedicine researcher, was interested in finding ways to mitigate the scourge.

Yahaya stated that almost 70 per cent of diabetic patients in Africa were unaware of their condition, and they often discover it accidentally.

“Since almost everyone has a mobile phone, I felt I could develop application software to help people identify their risk level.

“But the software will not prescribe medication; instead, it will assess whether users are at high, medium, or low risk and advise them to seek medical intervention.

“This software will be more beneficial, especially for people living in rural areas, because they can quickly assess their risk levels from the comfort of their homes.

“It will save them the stress of waiting for long periods to see a doctor,” he quoted Ibrahim as saying.

The information officer added that on the breast cancer detection App, the researcher said the idea came to him during an Innovation Hub Training sponsored by the university.

According to him, the researcher said the breast cancer software application will guide even women who do not have higher education because it is very simple and more pictorial.

“The application has already been licensed with the Nigerian Copyright Commission, and I’m sure the university will also benefit from it.

“The applications have not been uploaded to the Play Store, because in order to be available on the Play Store, they need to be commercialised and allow interested parties to invest in the idea,” he quoted Ibrahim as further saying. (NAN)

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