Tom Nyuma was awarded second place at the 2024 AFROTECH™ AI Hackathon, where innovators gathered to collaborate on impactful solutions for their communities and industries.
Nyuma, who started programming in college, created Sickle Sense to “truly make a difference in the lives of those with sickle cell,” he shared in his submission to AFROTECH™.
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As someone living with sickle cell disease, Nyuma initially planned to develop an app to help people find jobs. However, after reflecting on his own experiences, he decided to address a long-standing issue he had been passionate about for years — sickle cell disease management.
While researching, Nyuma found a 2023 paper titled Artificial Intelligence in Sickle Cell Disease, which explored how AI could transform the management of sickle cell disease through areas like early crisis detection, personalized treatment, and risk stratification. He said the research helped him realize that AI could empower sickle cell patients by offering tools to improve self-management and overall health outcomes.
“Whenever I get hospitalized due to complications with my SCD, I always wish I had a tool that could help me better understand my condition and maybe help me save myself from a crisis before it happens,” Nyuma shared.
The goal of Sickle Sense is to offer a holistic, accessible solution that combines both qualitative and quantitative data to provide real-time insights into a patient’s health.
The app integrates wearable data such as heart rate, oxygen levels, and activity tracking, which, when combined with user-submitted data, creates a clearer picture of the patient’s condition. It also helps detect patterns and predict potential crises before they escalate.
“Every component is thoughtfully crafted to empower fellow warriors living with Sickle Cell to take control of their health and life,” Nyuma wrote in his submission. His work earned him a $5,000 cash prize.
The 2024 AFROTECH™ AI Hackathon, hosted on DevPost, encouraged collaboration and innovative problem-solving within the tech community. Participants had to develop or enhance software applications incorporating GPT models from OpenAI or Google Gemini technologies, addressing healthcare, sustainability, cybersecurity, and risk or workforce development issues.
Increase Divine-Wisdom was the first-place winner. He traveled from Nigeria to receive his $7,500 cash prize for his user-friendly health management app, “designed for people dealing with chronic conditions,” such as himself.
Over 37,000 participants, 237 dynamic speakers, and 168 leading corporations gathered to redefine networking and collaboration at AFROTECH™ 2024 in Houston, TX, from Nov. 15 to Nov. 18, AFROTECH™ reported.
The conference will return to the city from Oct. 27 – 31, 2025, building on its momentum and offering a greater platform for Black professionals to innovate, collaborate, and succeed.
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