Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly, both in Africa and across the rest of the world. In Ghana, a young entrepreneur is harnessing this technology to benefit the healthcare sector.
Darlington Akogo (photo) is a Ghanaian artificial intelligence (AI) expert and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of minoHealth AI Labs, a tech startup that is using AI to revolutionize the healthcare sector in Africa.
Founded in 2017, minoHealth AI Labs is a pioneering company in the application of AI to healthcare. It helps medical institutions provide quality care at affordable costs by automating medical diagnostics, prognostics, and predictions using AI, data science, and biomedicine.
In the field of radiology, minoHealth AI Labs has developed AI systems capable of automatically diagnosing 14 thoracic conditions, including pneumonia, fibrosis, hernia, and pleural effusion. The system also aids in breast cancer detection through mammography.
The startup has also developed AI solutions to combat malaria, facilitate COVID-19 screening, and identify damage caused by tuberculosis. Moreover, it applies AI to other fields such as biotechnology, oncology, regenerative medicine, neuroscience, optometry, epidemiology, and dietetics.
Darlington Akogo is also the CEO of karaAgro AI, a company he founded in 2018 that offers precision agriculture solutions to help farmers increase yields and reduce crop stress. In 2019, he established the Runmila AI Institute, which he leads as Executive Director, to train Ghanaians and Africans in artificial intelligence.
Additionally, Akogo chairs TG-AI4Radiology, a think tank of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Health Organization (WHO). He also leads AI Economy, a group working to define a continental AI strategy within the African Union.
From 2019 to 2020, Darlington Akogo served as an AI and Industry 4.0 expert for the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS). He later co-chaired the global strategic group on digital health and AI, created by the University of Oxford.
Melchior Koba
