We never imagine or expect that great ideas can be born out of a time when one is ill.
The rationale is that great ideas are born out of smart observations from healthy individuals.
This was not the case for 33-year-old Neo Hutiri from Mahikeng, [North West], SA.
During his time growing up in the NorthWest province and then later moving to the township of Bophelong in Vanderbijlpark, [Vaal] in Gauteng. He witnessed firsthand the impacts of the burdened government healthcare system on his family and community.
In January 2014, Hutiri was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He was forced to spend three hours every two weeks collecting his medication at a government clinic.
The experience of queuing for many hours while he was ill was physically painful.
Typical symptoms of TB include a persistent cough, bloody phlegm, weight loss, night sweats, fatigue, loss of appetite and swellings in the neck.
The waiting period also took precious time away from his all-important rest and recuperation, which is essential for chronically ill patients.
One day, while sitting in the never-ending queue, Hutiri began pondering on a solution. He and his family members travelled long distances to clinics.
On arrival, due to insufficient nursing staff, they had to then endure long waiting periods. People who were on chronic medication were trapped in a terrible, insufficient and overburdened healthcare system.
There were far too many problems, concluded Hutiri.
There must be a way of expediting the system. What if the pills were dispensed electronically?
This would reduce the queues and free up the nursing staff to attend to patients. The impact would be positive on the patients’ health and livelihoods.
Neo’s entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and he set to work and ventured into the technology start-up world.
He used the knowledge he had gained from a BSc in electrical engineering from the University of Cape Town and a master’s in engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand to develop a revolutionary new concept – the Pelebox – which is a smart locker medication collection system.
Explaining the process to the Mail & Guardian, Hutiri said healthcare workers stock and secure the smart locker system with pre-packaged prescription refills and then log the medicine on the system.
The system then sends an SMS, which includes a one-time PIN, to let patients know that their medication is ready for collection at their local clinic.
The patient uses the pin to open their locker and collect their medicine.
The smart lockers are temperature controlled and daily serve between 70 and 300 patients per clinic, Hutiri told Quartz Online.
Hutiri’s innovation has reduced the period of collection of medication from three hours to 36 seconds per person. Hutiri is also the founder of Technovera, an innovation company that aims to develop technologies enabling access to healthcare in a convenient and practical way throughout Africa.
However, working on the Pelebox was not without its problems. Hutiri cites the importance of understanding intellectual property (IP) in the early stages of inventing.
BOOK EXTRACT | Long queues at clinic for TB meds inspire engineer to think up a solution
Hutiri's Pelebox is one of inventors' stories carried in the book
Image: SUPPLIED
We never imagine or expect that great ideas can be born out of a time when one is ill.
The rationale is that great ideas are born out of smart observations from healthy individuals.
This was not the case for 33-year-old Neo Hutiri from Mahikeng, [North West], SA.
During his time growing up in the NorthWest province and then later moving to the township of Bophelong in Vanderbijlpark, [Vaal] in Gauteng. He witnessed firsthand the impacts of the burdened government healthcare system on his family and community.
In January 2014, Hutiri was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He was forced to spend three hours every two weeks collecting his medication at a government clinic.
The experience of queuing for many hours while he was ill was physically painful.
Typical symptoms of TB include a persistent cough, bloody phlegm, weight loss, night sweats, fatigue, loss of appetite and swellings in the neck.
The waiting period also took precious time away from his all-important rest and recuperation, which is essential for chronically ill patients.
One day, while sitting in the never-ending queue, Hutiri began pondering on a solution. He and his family members travelled long distances to clinics.
On arrival, due to insufficient nursing staff, they had to then endure long waiting periods. People who were on chronic medication were trapped in a terrible, insufficient and overburdened healthcare system.
There were far too many problems, concluded Hutiri.
There must be a way of expediting the system. What if the pills were dispensed electronically?
This would reduce the queues and free up the nursing staff to attend to patients. The impact would be positive on the patients’ health and livelihoods.
Neo’s entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and he set to work and ventured into the technology start-up world.
He used the knowledge he had gained from a BSc in electrical engineering from the University of Cape Town and a master’s in engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand to develop a revolutionary new concept – the Pelebox – which is a smart locker medication collection system.
Explaining the process to the Mail & Guardian, Hutiri said healthcare workers stock and secure the smart locker system with pre-packaged prescription refills and then log the medicine on the system.
The system then sends an SMS, which includes a one-time PIN, to let patients know that their medication is ready for collection at their local clinic.
The patient uses the pin to open their locker and collect their medicine.
The smart lockers are temperature controlled and daily serve between 70 and 300 patients per clinic, Hutiri told Quartz Online.
Hutiri’s innovation has reduced the period of collection of medication from three hours to 36 seconds per person. Hutiri is also the founder of Technovera, an innovation company that aims to develop technologies enabling access to healthcare in a convenient and practical way throughout Africa.
However, working on the Pelebox was not without its problems. Hutiri cites the importance of understanding intellectual property (IP) in the early stages of inventing.
Image: SUPPLIED
Hutiri shared his insights about IP with fellow entrepreneur Kuthlwano Hutamo, founder of Washesha Online Groceries on YouTube during World IP Day: Whenever I think of IP I think of comparing it to an artist who has just crafted a really great masterpiece and they do not sign it.
A hundred years later, it becomes such a contentious issue… when the value of this art piece is gigantic, and the artist neglected to sign that art piece.
Hutiri emphasised that IP is a challenge that inventors and innovators do not think about when their mind is racing with solutions to a problem.
The Pelebox has seen success in many provinces in SA, having started with just 13 machines in Gauteng.
His aim is to install 50 machines by 2024, which will serve three million people.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Pelebox was particularly useful as there was little human contact when patients collected their medicine.
Not only has the Pelebox enjoyed commercial success throughout Africa, Hutiri has also won many awards. This includes a R35,000 prize at the Festival of Ideas and the 2019 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation by the Royal Academy of Engineering, which came with a prestigious medal and R500,000.
He also won R1m in the Hack Jozi Challenge.
Hutiri is currently studying towards a master’s degree in philosophy in inclusive innovation with a special interest in scaling impact through digital technologies. Hutiri’s invention has provided a solution to the over-burdened healthcare system in Africa. And his innovative spirit came to the fore when he was at his weakest physically.
Neo Hutiri and his Pelebox is a truly remarkable African story.
This is a book extract from We Were Always Here: Stories of Black Inventors Across the African Diaspora by Dr Candice Bailey, Lerato Makate, Sizwe Malinga, Les Owen and Therese Owen
BOOK EXTRACT | Homeland formation followed intense duels by two influential chiefs
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos