The reliability of health monitoring technologies is something many people trust, but few ever question. This is according to Dr Mfundo Shakes Scott, the Interim Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the University of Fort Hare (UFH).
For Dr Scott, this blind trust sparked a powerful research question: How do we know these systems are reliable, especially when human lives depend on them?
Driven by this concern, Dr Scott recently completed his challenging, yet inspiring doctoral journey to become the first South African to graduate with a PhD in Computer Science at UFH.
His groundbreaking study, titled A Framework for Evaluating the Reliability of Health Monitoring Technologies Based on Ambient Intelligence, seeks to fill a critical gap in healthcare technology.
“My thesis was motivated by the fact that the health of human beings is quite critically important in general and in various ways, which at times heavily relies on technocratic systems for assistance and monitoring. However, while we put so much trust in technology systems, we tend to ignore or overlook the importance of evaluating the reliability of such systems and therefore only rely on absolute trust, which may be blind trust at most times.”
“Simply put, my research undertook to address such an oversight by developing a framework that will assist in evaluating the reliability of such health monitoring technologies, especially those that are based on Ambient Intelligence (AmI).”
Ambient Intelligence refers to a field that explores the integration of technology into our everyday environments with the objective of creating intelligent and responsive spaces that anticipate and fulfill human needs, generally including the usage of sensors, computing, and AI to make environments aware of their occupants and adapt accordingly, he explained.
So, Can We Trust the Systems That Monitor Our Health?
As healthcare technology increasingly integrates into daily life, through wearables, smart home sensors, and remote patient monitoring, Dr Scott warns that this growing reliance may be misplaced.
“We trust these systems, but very few people ask whether they are consistently reliable, especially in environments with infrastructure limitations.”
His work introduces a much-needed framework to assess the reliability of these health monitoring technologies, particularly those based on AmI.
The research highlights a major oversight: most of these technologies are developed and tested in ideal settings that don’t reflect real-world conditions, especially those found in developing countries.
“My framework provides a structured way to evaluate these AmI-based health monitoring technologies, focusing on key dimensions like data accuracy, system robustness, reliability, and how well they perform in specific local contexts.”
“This research is not just theoretical,” he emphasizes. “It has real-world applications that can improve healthcare delivery, particularly in under-resourced settings like many parts of South Africa,” he said.
A Remarkable Academic Journey
For Dr Scott, balancing his research with his executive responsibilities at UFH meant countless weekends, holidays, and long nights sacrificed to the pursuit of knowledge.
“It was extremely demanding, tiring, complex, and challenging. I had to use my holidays, my weekends, even my family’s private time to make it work. But I was determined. I wanted to prove that you can achieve the highest academic honours right here at UFH.”
His dedication was also deeply personal and inspiring. “As a Black South African, I wanted to show that historically disadvantaged institutions like UFH can produce scientists of the highest calibre, even in scarce fields like Computer Science.”
Dr Scott has now completed four qualifications at UFH: a BSc in Computer Science and Physics, BSc Honours, MSc, and now his PhD.
A Call to Action
He hopes his story will inspire others to pursue postgraduate studies, particularly in Computer Science, where South Africa faces a serious shortage of PhD holders.
“UFH is 109 years old, and according to records, I am the first South African to graduate with a PhD in Computer Science from this institution. That tells you that we urgently need to grow the pipeline of local researchers who can ask the right questions and find solutions for our communities.”
Looking ahead, Dr Scott plans to scale the heights of higher education management while continuing to supervise postgraduate students, publish research, and serve as an external examiner to help strengthen the academic pipeline.
