Skrind

Adekunle is a social entrepreneur, medical scientist, and innovator, whose desire to use technology to address social challenges are his impelling cause for his continued participation in the social enterprise space.

Currently a PhD student in Molecular Biology and Genomics, I have my professional training as a Medical Laboratory Scientist. I have had professional exposure cutting across the public and private diagnostic space, and now turning to technology as a tool to create at scale solutions to problems identified from prior experiences while working. PreDiagn (www.prediagn.com.ng), as an example of health-tech founded by Adekunle is an on-demand diagnostic care platform. I previously co-initiated an in-school NGO, Blood Drive Initiative as an undergraduate, and currently sits on the organization's board. Imbued with innovative ideas borne out of my experience, passion, and perception of challenges as opportunities for social developmental change, my interest is addressing users pain-points from first-hand experiences.

The problem of readily accessible large scale first-line self-testing for the populace to effectively screen for timely detection of infectious diseases including COVID-19, and follow-on connection to treatment remains a challenge.

Our solution, Skrind, is built on AI technology and immunodiagnostic science in rapid kits, to give user populace a discreet and accurate testing tool deployable in a readily accessible self-testing approach (or usable by front-line semi-skilled public health staff in primary healthcare centers, for programmatic deployment) to scale timely and affordable access to care. Skrind, is innovative as it inventively scales existing science – the immunodiagnostic science in rapid test kits, leveraging on modern day cutting edge technology – the artificial intelligence, and the penetration power of mobile phone technology – smartphones, to promptly detect and enhance prevention of infectious diseases like HBV, HIV, and COVID-19 (within established testing regulatory frameworks), with follow-on care linkages.

The problem of lack of ready access to testing at scale for the populace is what we are addressing. 

Testing, though identified as an essential gateway to prevention, treatment, and care for many infectious diseases remains largely inaccessible to many despite availability of the science and technology enabling it.

Infectious diseases continue to pose grave concerns across a spectrum of diseases of global concern. Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV), according to a Lancet report, claims nearly a million lives annually, with an estimated 292million individuals affected worldwide.

Worldwide, more than 170million persons have hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and according to a report by Alter et al, HCV infections account for approximately 30,000 new infections and 8,000-10,000 deaths in the United States yearly.

Tuberculosis is one of the top 10 causes of death and the leading cause from a single infectious agent with 1.5million death recorded in 2018. Nigeria with other seven countries contributes two-third of the global burden.

Also, worldwide estimate of new HIV infection in 2018 was 1.7million, with 21% of the approximately 37.9million people infected globally still needing access to HIV-testing services.

The increasing novel Coronavirus cases currently at over 13million, remains a huge concern.

Our solution, Skrind, is a mobile app that leverages AI-based visual analysis for self-testing, and the lateral flow immunodiagnostic science methods in rapid test kits to provide qualitative testing for infectious diseases like Hepatitis B, HIV, HCV, Malaria, and also COVID-19 (deployable at community healthcare centers, mobile drives or stores), and subsequent follow-on care linkages to appropriate healthcare agencies.

Key value propositions include;

- direct, timely and accurate awareness campaigns to the populace leveraging on mobile ubiquity

- easily accessible testing at scale via at home self-testing for early detection

- very affordable first-line testing at markedly reduced cost compared to same rapid testing within four-walls of the laboratory

- In-app auto-referral and linkages to healthcare agencies for prompt follow-on care

- real-time surveillance data collation for informed decisions and policy-purpose by relevant healthcare agencies/governments 

Our app users simply order rapid test kits of choice in-store or online, and with the step-wise guide built into the Skrind app or ordered kits leaflet, proceeds to use a finger-prick blood sample, the 15minutes in-app timer, and subsequently captured test cassettes images to get accurate test results discreetly delivered to them via SMS, based on Skrind’s proprietary AI visual analysis algorithm.

Our solution serves the unaware and at-risk individuals, many of whom are not able to readily pay for screening test for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, and other preventable transmissible infectious diseases outside of intervention programs or happenstance screening, such as for pregnant women during antenatal visits (the common reasons some get tested for these infectious disease). The poor and average citizen who would not consider a medical checkup are also a target.

With strategies to engage with youths, previous experience and participation in infection testing outreaches will be brought to bear in using advocacy and testing outreaches to drive adoption for discreet self-testing.

Skrind is designed to address the user populace’ needs of readily being able to access infectious diseases screening as close as a rapid test kit at their local pharmacy stores around, and that at fraction of cost and time needed to visit traditional laboratory.

Also, the needs for discreet and confidential testing, particularly among youths and other high-risk groups for many of these infectious diseases, especially the sexually transmissible ones, will be met, just as the increasing desire by users (digitally-oriented millennial and mobile-oriented adult population) to be served where, how, and when they want it. 

No doubt, there exist global threats from both prevailing infectious diseases like HIV, HBV, TB, and emerging ones like Chikungunya, Ebola, and the novel coronavirus. The magnitude of threats by infectious diseases had only escalate with the COVID-19 pandemic. This has, as before, heightens need for greater attention to infectious diseases towards ensuring health security for mankind.

Our AI-powered self-testing approach aptly aligns with the Elevate Prize Challenge as it directly propagates awareness to users’ mobile devices, also scaling testing accessibility, inventively leveraging on serological science in rapid kits, mobile-tech and AI visual analysis technologies to solve global health problems. 

My professional work practice on the bench, involved in providing diagnostic care availed me first-hand experience with the challenges magnifying the import of timely detection testing, just as it does enable prevention. From experience, many diagnosis of infectious diseases cases are done late and often a happenstance. The poor or under privileged populace are the most affected as they are those who wouldn’t ordinarily have access to testing nor go for one on their own. The burden of meeting daily needs already have enough effect on their meager livelihood. Cost therefore is an issue besides the low awareness on the need for testing to know one’s status and taking preventive steps. This led to my involvement in community awareness campaigns on infectious diseases and screening outreaches. However, as a technology enthusiast, the desire to leverage technology in addressing identified gaps in order to scale testing access at scale gave birth to Skrind.

With the goal to deploy same first-line testing rapid kit at $2.6 as against $6.5 and making it readily accessible via users’ personal mobile devices, we hope to solve the challenges of accessibility and affordability to drive testing for prompt detection and timely care access. 

My first-hand experiences of the challenges of testing especially as it concerns awareness, accessibility and cost which led to my involvement in outreaches to advocate routine testing towards timely detection and preventive actions such as vaccination, for some of the infectious diseases which are preventable, and timely linkages with treatments for those having treatments available for it.

A maxim I hold dear as an individual is ‘a stitch in time saves nine’, as timely detection and preventive approach remains a key towards good health and well-being.

The subsequent cost implications of not taking actions at testing, with the economic and health burden are experiences fueling my involvement in awareness campaigns and testing outreaches to lend my professional expertise. As impacting and fulfilling this seems, the limitation in reach based on time and space barrier, resulted in the conceptualization of Skrind, as a technological solution to scale accessibility and affordability, leveraging on the mobile ubiquity and penetration, and the lauded artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

My previous exposure and experience, both as a professional and my antecedent with advocacy and social innovations that cuts across initiating of Blood Drive Initiative (BDI), as well as my involvement with testing needs for these infectyious diseases across the various diagnostic testing methods like the in-lab testing for HBV, HIV, etc using rapid test kits, the more sophisticated HBV profile testing for the various antigens, as well as molecular PCR testing for the HBV DNA, as a case in point shows my industry knowledge that will contribute immensely to success.

Likewise, my subsequent involvement in community medical outreaches to run testing campaigns, and the several advocacy and awareness campaigns on air via radio programmes enlightening the populace, and also answering their questions about infectious diseases, and the import of technology as a tech enthusiast (for which I have some experience having founded an on-demand diagnostic care platform previously) in order to bring to bear the leveraging of technology for making impact at scale, are all experiences that will go a long way in positioning me and my team to deliver on this project. Apt to say that some of my core team members who are equally professionals that share in my passion, and with a strong belief in our business concept is also going to be of great importance.

I like to mention here that much of the development efforts at building a working solution, built on AI technology with high cost implication associated with accessing developers with such skills-set, especially since most of these funds comes from bootstrapping, is a challenge that comes to mind. Having to bootstrap to raise funds for this project personally contributed to project timeline delays, particularly during the Covid-19 outbreak when salaries were delayed or not regular, and having to negotiate rather than demand meeting project design milestones by contracted developer.

Similarly, many other planning and logistics efforts, such as OEM ordering of branded test kits went on hold. Besides, we have also had to resort to temporary deployment of app's API on a sub-domain as against hosting on a separate server, even though the domain name skrind.com had already been registered. 

Thanks to the seed grant support from The Pollination Project, California, USA which helped with funding part of the app development contract with hired developers to some extent before now. 

Maneuvering around and persevering through these challenges comes to mind in response to how we have had to overcome adversity, going forward with our firm belief in Skrind and its potential.

Pioneering and leading an in-school youth organization, Blood Drive Initiative (BDI), using positive peer influence to galvanize among youths, the interest in altruistic acts of donating blood as voluntary donors, comes to mind.

The movement which began with sharing the idea with a classmate, led to forming a group of 10 medical students learning more about safe blood and voluntary blood donors, creating a number of advocacy concepts and materials which came handy and useful in mobilizing the university community for a voluntary blood donation exercise to support the first Open Heart Surgery exercise held in the University College Hospital, Ibadan few months after founding the group.

The success of the blood donation drive not only curry favor from all quarters but also led to starting detachments of Blood Drive Initiative (BDI) in other universities, as well as subsequent connection and partnership with the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS).

The growth of the youth-led in-school organization, BDI, which grew to the status and became registered as a non-governmental organization under my leadership both as pioneer Coordinator and subsequently as Executive Director of Operations alludes to my leadership capabilities. Out of school, I am still a registered trustee of the group.

Skrind is presently not registered as a business enterprise of itself, though we have plans for that in the near future. As it stands presently, Skrind is an offshoot project being developed and promoted by a team from PreDiagn, with the Founder and CEO, Adekunle as the concept initiator and leader of the Skrind project team.

As a social innovation with the goal of re-imagining and re-setting the testing accessibility space, leveraging on rapid immunodiagnostic science and AI as cutting-edge technology driving it, the goal of our solution, Skrind, is scaling access to testing towards detection and prevention of infectious diseases. For us, success will mean not just achieving our mission, but seeing that we contribute to developmental goals such as the SDG goal 3 on ‘Good Health and Well-being’, as well as many other global targets such as ‘Goal 90-90-90 for HIV’ and the goal to ‘Eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030’, besides the more immediate concerted efforts of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our theory of change is one that believes in the promotion of better living standard in pace with the evolving behavioral propensities owing to the increasingly digital economy we live in, in the world today. 

Within our private beta testing that is ongoing, we have done a few hundreds testing, and anticipate completing more beta testing soonest, set out on the goal of 1 million within the next one year, as well as work towards 50 million testing at the minimum within the next 5 years.

Over the next 12 months, we have plans to complete our private beta testing, while making our app more robust to deliver on our mission across spectrum of infectious diseases we are solving for. We also plan to engage in several advocacy and marketing campaigns, particularly among in-school undergraduate youths as targeted early adopters, and make efforts to replicate similar efforts in other targeted countries through personal contacts. With this we hope to distribute minimum of 1 million rapid test kits. 

Our primary goal is to further enhance the robustness of our technology/mobile app solution.

Similarly, we intend to develop and expand to more and more available rapid test kits of market interest.

Also to refine our business and revenue model from a prototype to a scalable, replicable or franchise service, as well as nurture a reputable brand presence to reach new partners and clients.

Critical hurdles we need to overcome going forward with Skrind includes funding to bankroll our OEM rapid kits manufacturing arrangements and other critical market entry and distribution needs, strengthening of our team with key skills, especially tech skills, as well as needed network and partnership for deployment at scale to reach the populace that will markedly benefit from our solution.

We have in place already, an OEM partnership arrangement, we equally believe we can successfully bring to market an MVP that can attract to us further investment, skills, and partnership so as to deliver on our set goals. 

Our plan is to be able to access needed funding either as a grant to facilitate deployment, optimum market entry, and distribution of our social enterprise on a large scale, and/or be able to raise a Pre-Seed funding round.

With that, our primary goal is to further enhance the robustness of our technology/mobile app solution, enhance our team and deepen our operations.

Also to refine our business and revenue model into a scalable, replicable or franchise service, as well as nurture a reputable brand presence to reach new partners and clients.

Similarly, we intend to develop and expand to more and more available rapid test kits of market interest.