Dr. Oden, Dr. Machen, and Lauren came to visit Lesotho last week! It was really wonderful to see some familiar faces. Dr. Oden visited Baylor Clinic on Thursday and I was able to update her on my projects and to discuss ideas for new projects. She also brought with her news and ideas from Swaziland, so that was really great. From her meeting with Dr. Lineo, Dr. Jamie, and Dr. Meena, it sounds like we are ready to implement the dosing syringes. Over the next week, I hope to develop a protocol for the distribution and assessment of the syringes. Although we are not conducting a study or collecting data for publication, we do hope to obtain some feedback that will help us to improve the design and to evaluate its usefulness/appropriateness. I’m excited to get started on that!
That afternoon, Dr. Oden, Dr. Machen, and I went to Queen II to meet with the doctors there and to demonstrate the CPAP device. The Bubble CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device provides, as the name suggests, continuous positive pressure to the lungs that helps keep the alveoli partially inflated. Although it is not an alternative for a ventilator, the device keeps the lungs going long enough so that ventilators don’t become necessary.
Dr. Machen gave a compelling presentation on the usefulness of the device and all the doctors at Queen II seemed really interested! A few of them even asked if they could keep one. Unfortunately, the device is not at the stage where it is ready to be used on infants. However, Baylor and BTB are looking for partners who are interested in conducting clinical studies to assess the effectiveness of the design. Hopefully, Queen II will be a site where such a study can take place.
A funny story on the side: the nursery doctor whom I demonstrated the transilluminator device to the previous Thursday was also at the meeting. After the meeting, she asked me what I was studying at Rice. I told her that I’m majoring in bioengineering. In any case, I don’t think she was very impressed with our device or my chosen area of study. She did however tell me that I was “a beautiful baby and should enter competitions.” I was slightly taken aback, but I took it as a compliment and politely thanked her.