Contributing to the improvement of regional healthcare in Africa

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is an effective treatment for HIV patients.

However, in addition to being a lifelong therapy, ART may cause side effects such as chronic kidney disease (CKD) or liver damage; therefore, periodic monitoring is needed.

In Sub-Sahara (the region south of the Sahara Desert on the African Continent), which has many HIV-infected persons, there are many areas where social infrastructure such as medical equipment and electrical and water facilities are underdeveloped. This results in a lack of proper healthcare whereby test results are not reported for several weeks after sample collection.

In Sub-Sahara (the region south of the Sahara Desert on the African Continent), which has many HIV-infected persons, there are many areas where social infrastructure such as medical equipment and electrical and water facilities are underdeveloped. This results in a lack of proper healthcare whereby test results are not reported for several weeks after sample collection.

ARKRAY created a small and simplified blood testing device called, “The Lab 004”, specially designed for CKD and liver disease testing in order to solve the above social issue.

The Lab 004 can perform testing in environments without sufficient water supply and drainage as well as in areas with an unstable electricity supply as it can be powered by a mobile battery.

In addition, since measurement results are provided in just five minutes, there is no need to send samples to a large hospital in the city, which is advantageous to rural clinics and traveling clinics.

ARKRAY is striving to solve social issues via our business activities through the “African Health Initiative” led by the Japanese Government (Cabinet Office).