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18 May 2025 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons
Research room
Prof Corinna Walsh from the UFS Department of Nutrition and Dietetics explains how the PEA POD® infant body composition analyser works. Dr Balekile Mzangwa, CEO of Universitas Academic Hospital, and Dr Grace London, Chief Director: District Health services at the Free State Department of Health, listens in.

In a significant stride toward improving maternal and child health in the Free State, the Universitas Academic Hospital, in collaboration with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), has launched an innovative Research Room which houses the PEA POD® infant body composition analyser and the Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) machine used to assess body composition and bone mineral density.

The initiative, which marks a new era in neonatal care and research, aims to integrate cutting-edge technology into routine clinical care. The PEA POD®, a non-invasive device that uses air displacement plethysmography, allows for precise measurement of fat and fat-free mass in newborns – offering a more accurate assessment of growth and nutritional status than traditional methods. 

The research room is a newly renovated and dedicated space adjacent to the maternity and neonatal units, ensuring quick, safe access to the newborns in the hospital. Two full-time MSc Dietetics students have been trained to perform the PEAPOD® assessments and colleagues from Radiography will perform the DXA assessments. This work lays the foundation for an ongoing maternal and infant body composition database –  a valuable resource for research, clinical care, and policy guidance.

Aligned with national health priorities

According to Prof Corinna Walsh from the UFS Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, this initiative is the result of a multidisciplinary collaboration across Paediatrics and Child Health, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Radiography, Nutrition and Dietetics, to mention just a few of the collaborators. They are optimistic about the dual impact of this project as it advances academic and clinical research in early-life nutrition and growth as well as enhancing patient care at Universitas Hospital – bringing measurable benefits to mothers and their babies, she said. 

“This initiative is well aligned with national health priorities. According to the South African Early Childhood Review 2024, malnutrition in all its forms remains a significant challenge with short- and long-term consequences for mothers and their babies, especially during the first 1 000 days of life, from conception to the second birthday.

“We know from global and local evidence that growth patterns established during early life have profound and lasting effects on an individual’s health, development, and well-being. Our work at the University of the Free State has focused on the nutritional status of pregnant women and the early environments to which infants are exposed, both during and after pregnancy,” said Prof Walsh. 

However, she continued, in previous studies, they faced a significant challenge: the lack of specialised equipment to accurately measure infant body composition. Traditional measures such as weight and length provide only part of the picture.

 

New possibilities in healthcare, science, and service

Dr Mzangwa said the day not only marks the unveiling of state-of-the-art technology, but the beginning of a new chapter in how they will care for and understand the youngest and most vulnerable patients. The PEA POD® and DXA, which is now housed just steps away from the maternity and neonatal wards, symbolise a shared vision between the hospital and the Faculty of Health Sciences at the UFS: a vision grounded in evidence-based care, cutting-edge research, and above all, compassion.

“We express our sincere appreciation to everyone who supported this initiative. We also acknowledge the dedication of all the collaborating departments – Paediatrics and Child Health, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Radiography, Nutrition and Dietetics –  and thank Prof Corinna Walsh and Dr Lizzy Tabane for their leadership and insight.”

Prof Janse van Vuuren, said: “Today, we do more than open a physical space. We open the door to new possibilities in healthcare, science, and service to the people of our province. It is a shining example of what can be achieved when government and academia come together, united by a common purpose – to improve lives through knowledge, innovation, and care.”

The technologies that will be used in this facility are more than just advanced instruments, they are tools that allow medical staff to better understand the human body in its earliest and most vulnerable stages, as well as throughout the lifespan. With this understanding comes the ability to make informed decisions, to intervene earlier, and to tailor care in ways that truly meet the needs of our patients, said Prof Janse van Vuuren.

“This space is more than a research centre. It is a testament to our commitment to evidence-based care. It is a place where data meets compassion, where science serves humanity. The work that will happen here will not be confined to the walls of academia –  it has the potential to ripple outward into clinics, into hospitals, and into homes. It will shape guidelines, inform policy, and ultimately, improve outcomes for patients across our province and beyond.”


News Archive

Africa the birthplace of mathematics, says Prof Atangana
2017-11-17


 Description: Prof Abdon Atangana, African Award of Applied Mathematics  Tags: Prof Abdon Atangana, African Award of Applied Mathematics

Prof Abdon Atangana from the UFS Institute for Groundwater Studies.
Photo: Supplied

 

Prof Abdon Atangana from the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State recently received the African Award of Applied Mathematics during the International conference "African’s Days of Applied Mathematics" that was held in Errachidia, Morocco. Prof Atangana delivered the opening speech with the title "Africa was a temple of knowledge before: What happened?” The focus of the conference was to offer a forum for the promotion of mathematics and its applications in African countries.

When Europeans first came to Africa, they considered the architecture to be disorganised and thus primitive. It never occurred to them that Africans might have been using a form of mathematics that they hadn’t even discovered yet.

Africa is home to the world’s earliest known use of measuring and calculation. Thousands of years ago Africans were using numerals, algebra and geometry in daily life. “Our continent is the birthplace of both basic and advanced mathematics,” said Prof Atangana. 

Africa attracted a series of immigrants who spread knowledge from this continent to the rest of the world.

Measuring and counting
In one of his examples of African mathematics knowledge Prof Atangana referred to the oldest mathematical instrument as the Lebombo bone, a baboon fibula used as a measuring instrument, which was named after the Lebombo Mountains of Swaziland. The world’s oldest evidence of advanced mathematics was also a baboon fibula that was discovered in present-day Democratic Republic of Congo.

Another example he used is the manuscripts in the libraries of the Sankoré University, one of the world’s oldest tertiary institutions. This university in Timbuktu, Mali, is full of manuscripts mainly written in Ajami in the 1200s AD. “When Europeans and Western Asians began visiting and colonising Mali between the 1300s and 1800s, Malians hid the manuscripts in basements, attics and underground, fearing destruction or theft by foreigners. This was certainly a good idea, given the Europeans' history of destroying texts in Kemet and other areas of the continent. Many of the scripts were mathematical and astronomical in nature. In recent years, as many as 700 000 scripts have been rediscovered and attest to the continuous knowledge of advanced mathematics and science in Africa well before European colonisation. 

Fractal geometry

“One of Africa’s major achievements was the advanced knowledge of fractal geometry. This knowledge is found in a wide aspect of Africa life: from art, social design structures, architecture, to games, trade and divination systems. 

“The binary numeral system was also widely known through Africa before it was known throughout much of the world. There is a theory that it could have influenced Western geometry, which led to the development of digital computers,” he said. 

“Can Africa rise again?” Prof Atangana believes it can.

He concluded with a plea to fellow African researchers to do research that will build towards a new Africa.

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