Thomas Adewumi University continues to assert its reputation as a hub of innovation and interdisciplinary excellence as its student team - Team MedPatch secured Second Place with a ₦1.5 million grant at the prestigious AFRETEC-UNILAG 2025 Innovation-in-Health Challenge (Grand Finale).
Organized by InnovateUNILAG - Innovation and Technology Management Office (ITMO) in collaboration with the College of Medicine (CMUL) and the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Lagos, the Innovation-in-Health Challenge brought together fourteen multidisciplinary teams of student innovators from nine Nigerian universities (University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, McPherson University, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, University of Medical Sciences Ondo, University of Jos, Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun, University of Benin, and Thomas Adewumi University). The initiative aims to address urgent healthcare challenges in Africa through sustainable and scalable digital health solutions.
From an initial contest made of 102 teams drawn 339 students from Universities across Nigeria, TAU students made it to the Top 14 teams from 9 Universities that made it to the finals. At the Grand finale event held on Wednesday 25th June 2025, our team made a brilliant presentation that clinched an amazing 76% performance to win the Second position. This win is particularly fantastic as TAU is the only private university among the top three (3), the two other positions went to the host University, the University of Lagos.
Team MedPatch from TAU, composed of students from the Faculty of Nursing Sciences and the Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, rose to national prominence with their groundbreaking project titled "MedPatch". The team’s innovation is a wearable, hydrogel-based microneedle patch designed for early disease detection and continuous health monitoring, utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning technologies.
Their solution addresses the widespread challenge of late diagnosis of treatable diseases such as malaria and diabetes in Africa. MedPatch stands as Africa’s first IoT-enabled smart microneedle patch, capable of measuring disease biomarkers in real-time and transmitting critical health data to caregivers and medical professionals.
The students comprises:
- Oluwatodunni Obafemi (400 Level, Software Engineering) – Team Lead
- Eniola Fonahanmi-Idris (500 Level, Nursing Science) – Researcher
- Favour Adeoye (200 Level, Nursing Science) – Researcher
- Erioluwa Ajayi (300 Level, Computer Science) – Developer
Incorporating both clinical insight and technical expertise, the team built a functional Arduino-powered sensor prototype and trained machine learning models to accurately interpret disease signals. Their solution represents a bold step forward in digital health innovation, combining accessibility, intelligence, and scalability in one integrated system.
The students received invaluable mentorship from Dr. Farohunbi Samuel, Director of Human Capacity Development at TAU, and Miss Aimas-Love Lily, Graduate Assistant (Computing Science) , both of whom provided technical and strategic guidance throughout the research and development process.
At TAU, we are not just training students; we are cultivating innovators, problem solvers, and caregivers-in-training who are committed to building the future of African healthcare—one patch at a time.
The AFRETEC-UNILAG Innovation-in-Health Challenge represents a significant platform for collaboration between health and tech disciplines, and TAU’s remarkable performance affirms the institution’s growing influence in interdisciplinary research, health innovation, and student-led entrepreneurship.
Congratulations to Team TAU, Team MedPatch!
