What is the name of your organization?
The Addis Clinic
What is the name of your solution?
The Heartbeat of TeleHealth
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Scaling telemedicine with AI-powered stethoscopes to bring specialist care to remote global communities through frontline health workers.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Nairobi County, Kenya
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
Kenya
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
In Sub-Saharan Africa, a widening healthcare gap threatens last-mile patients in underserved communities, with over 70% of the rural population lacking adequate medical care. The recent abrupt withdrawal of support from Africa is exacerbating this gap, risking a global health crisis. Telemedicine platforms connecting these patients to remote healthcare workers and physicians offer a viable solution, but significant challenges remain. A key issue is the lack of appropriate technology to gather rigorous physical examination data, often limiting remote physicians’ ability to diagnose accurately and provide effective treatment. In Kenya, vast distances and a shortage of trained healthcare workers further delay critical care. Existing technology is often too expensive or complex for scalable deployment in these communities, both for patients and frontline health workers. Even simpler tools like electronic stethoscopes still require trained personnel to produce high-quality examination data for remote physicians. To improve telehealth outcomes, a seamless integration of scalable technology with existing telemedicine platforms is essential. Success in this endeavor could have a transformative impact on healthcare delivery across the continent, benefiting these neglected communities.
What is your solution?
The Addis Clinic (TAC) is connecting thousands of last-mile patients in underserved communities across the Horn of Africa with skilled Physicians through virtual consultations. Local healthcare workers collect patient data including medical histories, symptoms, and diagnostic images and upload them securely via a low-bandwidth platform. Volunteer specialists then review cases remotely, providing real-time diagnoses and treatment plans. However, TAC has historically faced limitations in delivering precise recommendations due to the lack of objective physical examination data, with previous attempts to integrate examination tools proving unsuccessful.
TAC is partnering with Korion Health, to deploy their AI-powered SoundHeart Stethoscope, an affordable, digital stethoscope designed for low-resource settings. Developed by University of Pittsburgh Medical School affiliates, the device features an augmented reality-guided interface to ensure accurate placement for optimal sound capture. This innovation enables reliable heart and lung sound collection, facilitating longitudinal patient monitoring and AI-driven diagnostics.
In this pilot, 20 TAC clinicians will use the stethoscope during 1,000+ teleconsultations over a year. The Impact will be assessed through sound quality, AI diagnostic accuracy, and provider confidence in diagnoses. We will compare patient outcomes pre- and post-implementation, tracking reductions in respiratory/cardiovascular deaths and cost savings for patients.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
For 14 years, The Addis Clinic (TAC) has provided vital healthcare to impoverished, remote communities across Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa, where medical access is severely limited. Many patients endure long, costly journeys for basic care or go untreated, leading to preventable deaths. TAC’s telemedicine platform bridges this gap by connecting patients with specialists remotely, eliminating the need for travel. Local health workers are trained to collect patient data, enabling swift diagnoses whether for a mother seeking urgent care for her child or a farmer managing chronic illness without losing income. This model reduces financial burdens and saves lives.
Now, through a partnership with Korion Health, TAC is integrating the SoundHeart Stethoscope, a breakthrough AI-powered tool that captures high-quality heart and lung sounds in low-resource settings. This innovation will:
- Enhance diagnostic accuracy in regions with few specialists.
-Train local providers through real-time feedback, building long-term capacity.
Detect life-threatening conditions like pneumonia and heart failure earlier, preventing complications.
By equipping rural health workers with this technology, we will ensure underserved populations receive timely, expert care
