Engineering Design Competition to Improve Maternal Health THE PROBLEM According the recently released Human Development Report 2014 by UNDP, 1.1% of mothers that gave birth to a live child in Chad in 2010 died from child birth related complications while only 0.007% of mothers died giving birth in Norway in that year. Chad is not alone. Being pregnant in many African countries is a life-threatening undertaking. For instance, maternal mortality for Uganda and Malawi is 0.31% and 0.46%, respectively, – way higher than Tunisia’s 0.06%. GOAL: Develop engineering innovations that may help improve maternal health. SOME SUGGESTIONS: Here Prof Elizabeth Molyneux from University of Malawi has compiled some suggestions of areas where engineering innovations can be applied to improve maternal health. Potable kits and sets 1. A single point of care test for HIV, Syphilis and Malaria. 2. Good reliable and safe vacuum extractor where the cups fit and do not keep falling off. 3. Hand held, cheap, robust and reliable doppler and USS. 4. A portable delivery set etc in a carrier for community health workers to carry when they are working in the community. Measurement kits 1. A simple, robust, quick to use, automated BP machine with an alarm to warn health workers and patients when the BP is high - for clinic use. 2. A simple pictorial, gestational calendar/calculator to enable pregnant mothers work out when their baby is due 3. A calorie calculator for simple local foods for mothers with diabetes. 4. Artificial blood for immediate use at a clinic if she bleeds. Energy kits 1. Solar powered communication - verbal and visual. 2. An energy saving cooking device that reduces the need to fetch and carry firewood. 3. A solar lighting system for night feeds Living conditions 1. A very portable, easy to put up and dismantle, mosquito net with long lasting mosquito repellent for mum (and her children) 2. A long handled hoe to make it easier to till the garden 3. Culturally acceptable simple, robust transport system for pregnant mum; (The bicycle ambulance is not used as much as it could because in places you do not publicly declare that you are on route to the hospital to have a baby - thought to bring bad luck. 4. Simple and cheap water treatment system for home use ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: The project idea proposed should clearly address the following questions: 1) What is the proposed technology innovation? It MUST have a health impact, be it a medical device or not. 2) Does the project have a clearly identified target population (its end-users and/or customers)? 3) Technical and Economic Feasibility. Have a short business case or plan. 4) Ingenuity and Creativity. a. Does the project design make good use of available resources? 5) Potential for commercialization b. What is currently being done to address the problem? c. Compare that with the proposed solution? 6) The teams must be multi-disciplinary in nature with at least, one team member from engineering or related field. Note: The above criteria are meant to guide the brainstorming process and not all of them may be applicable. CATEGORIES Project designs may fall into one or more of the following categories: 1. Affordable and robust diagnostics: Projects will directly address a health problem and will clearly outline the health benefits to the target population. For instance, innovations that address access to preventive and/or curative services of infectious diseases, nutrition, maternal and child health or family planning fall under this category. 2. Health infrastructure and management of hospital equipment: Projects in this category may focus on engineering and capacity building approaches to improve patient, home, and hospital infrastructure (e.g., water quality improvement and hospital sanitation services). 3. Information and communication technology (ICT): Projects that demonstrate innovative use of ICTs to achieve a health impact fall under this category. This may include use of mobile phones and other wireless communication technology, and social media. These projects include mobile health projects that improve diagnosis and database management. PROCESS OF THE COMPETITION Write down your idea and talk to experts at your institution or industry, write the ideas and mail a copy to UNECA and your institutional contact. The concepts will be assessed by the Technical Committee and feedback will be provided on selected concepts. BENEFITS Three winners will be selected and sponsored to attend the BME Innovators School in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania in December 2014. Submissions will be accepted from African students and researchers younger than 34. IMPORTANT DATES Deadline for Submission of initial ideas 15 October 2014 Deadline for submission of approved design 20 November 2014 CONTACTS Mr. Asfaw Yitna, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Email: [email protected] Dr. June Madete, Kenyatta University, Email: [email protected]
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 20:48:58 +0000
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