Hello all! Although this is my second post, I think some explanations and definitions are in order. Dear reader, I apologize if this post is not as saucy as you expected, but I believe that this section is necessary to understand further blogs posts.
First off, my name is Andrea – a recent graduate of Rice University with a Bachelor’s in Bioengineering and a minor in Global Health Technologies. I applied to this internship after being inspired by the success of my senior design team and because of my interest in improving health in low-resource countries. My partner, Melissa Yuan, has just completed her freshman year at Rice. For this Beyond Traditional Borders internship, Melissa and I are bringing a total of 9 technologies to Maluti Adventist Hospital in rural Lesotho.
Lesotho
A little bit first about our new home. Lesotho, also known as the “roof of southern Africa” or the “kingdom of the sky” – is the only country in the world to be entirely 1,000 meters above sea level. It’s not very large at all – only about the size of Maryland.
English and Sesotho are the official languages. Sesotho is a Bantu language, and doesn’t resemble anything I’ve ever heard before. It’s considered good manners to greet another person with “Lumela!” (pronounced “doo meh LAH”) or “Lumelang!” if it’s more than one person.
Although surrounded by the relatively wealthy country of South Africa, Lesotho is one of the poorest in the world. Public health is also a major concern here – 1 in 3 people are infected with HIV. In the capital of Maseru, the incidence is even higher, at 40%.
The government runs or significantly contributes to most of the hospitals here. Maluti Adventist Hospital, where Melissa and I will be working, was established in 1951 and served under the guidance of the Adventist Church. Basotho doctors and doctors visiting from Switzerland, Argentina, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the United States all serve to provide the best possible care. Melissa and I are very excited and proud to be able to work at this hospital.
Our Mission: Technology Introduction
One of the main goals for Melissa and me is to introduce a wide range of technologies that have been developed at Rice University. We are hoping to get feedback for these technologies so that they can be even more helpful in assisting the doctors to provide patient care.
All of these technologies have been designed to address healthcare needs of developing countries in mind. They are all low-cost and require minimal power, if any.
Some of these technologies are ones that Melissa and I have built ourselves. The Babalung Apnea Monitor, for example, was designed and built by my senior design group. (Check us out here). I also built the Bililights after finals ended, and Melissa constructed IV Drip with her freshman engineering team.
The technologies can be broken up into two major categories: obstetrics & pediatrics, and general use.
Obstetrics & Pediatrics
Bililights – (“bilirubin lights”) – a set of phototherapy lights. These lights hang over the crib of a newborn baby to treat jaundice.
How it works: Consists of a series of blue LEDs lined up under a clear acrylic plate. The blue lights provide the exact frequency of energy needed to break down bilirubin, which causes the appearance of yellow skin and eyes in jaundice.
Dosimeter – a tool that indicates the intensity of light. Used in conjunction with the Bililights to ensure that the light intensity is clinically effective.
Babalung Apnea Monitor (my senior design project!) – a system that detects apnea of prematurity in newborn infants and stimulates them to breathe.
How it works: a band wraps around a newborn infant’s chest and continuously checks for breathing through a TI microcontroller. If the baby has not breathed for longer than 15 seconds, the band vibrates to help stimulate the baby to breathe.
Length Board – helps measure the length of infants.
How it works: After unscrewing the knob of the front panel, a nurse withdraw a long section of padding. Here, the nurse would place the baby and then roll up the box to find the measurement of the infant. Proper technique for measuring an infant actually requires two people – one to hold down the head and the headrest, while the other holds down the feet and matches up the length.
SAPHE Pad – a pad that helps doctors visually estimate how much blood a woman has lost after childbirth.
How it works: This pad is broken up into a series of squares. Each square fills up with exactly 50 mL of blood. By counting how many squares or filled or half-filled, doctors can estimate how much blood the woman has lost and assess if she is experiencing post-partum hemorrhage, a potentially fatal condition.
General Use / Medicine Administration
Dosing Clips – a series of plastic clips that snap onto syringes. A small leg
of plastic hangs into the body of the syringe to prevent the stopper from moving past a pre-specified length. Each dosing clip is designed for a specific volume and is color-coded accordingly. The volumes range from 0.5 mL to 5 mL.
Invertabottle – A specially designed cap that connects to a standard bottle used for painkillers.
How it works: The cap has a Luer-lock connection that can be fitted in conjunction with any syringe with a Luer-lock. In this way, painkiller can be directly administered to a patient with limited possibility of contamination.
IV Drip – IV therapy system that automatically shuts off delivery of saline solution after a prespecified amount of fluid.
How it works: A counterweight is fitted on one side of a lever arm. The placement of the counterweight directly correlates to how much saline solution will be delivered to the patient. After the doctor sets the counterweight, the doctor is able to essentially walk away. As the IV bag loses liquid, the lever arm shifts down. At the precise moment that the amount of solution has been delivered, it triggers a mousetrap to clamp the IV tube shut and stop the flow of liquid.
Dremofuge – a centrifuge made out of a dremel tool. Ideal for 2 mL and 5 mL urine and stool samples.
How it works: After removing the saw portion of the dremel tool, the dremel is fit with a custom-made piece that accommodates testing tubes. This dremel is then cemented to a wooden piece, and a plastic casing surrounds the system for security.
And that’s that! All 9 technologies. Especially for the first few weeks, Melissa and I will be focusing on getting as much design feedback as possible. If some technologies are adapted very well, there’s the possibility that they will remain with the hospital even after we leave. The other projects will be taken back to Rice to adopt design revisions.
In addition to this technology feedback, we are also expected to work on whatever projects the hospital will find to be most useful for us to do, as well as work on our own individual projects that may or may not be tied to the hospital.
New post about to upload. And thanks for reading! 🙂