Development of a Database for Global Health Medical Devices

The design of medical technologies for developing countries is a multidisciplinary process. We describe a model process for an appropriate medical device design. D-Lab Health combines real world projects and partners with a diverse student team to provide experiential educational opportunities in a developing country health care setting; in turn, the partners benefit from student medical device designs. In order to effectively communicate practical design strategies toward an appropriate design for medical technology, a series of accelerated technology learning modules was developed using commercially available and customized medical devices. Each module included a formal framework for the students to think about the competing priorities of the user, chooser, payer, and approver of such global health technologies, christened the “global health innovation compass.” These modules provided a hands-on laboratory experience that demystified the design process. This was particularly useful for nonengineering students who were able to add value to the project through their life-sciences background. An essential component of the course was a week-long visit to our field partners in Nicaragua to enable the students to get first hand experience and to identify a health need they could address with a technology solution. Subsequently, the students utilized their hands-on training to develop medical device prototypes within an abbreviated production schedule of 3 weeks. We describe the design process for one such prototype “a low cost glucometer.”

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Making Human Factors Affordable for Medical Device and Global Health Startups

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care ◽

10.1177/2327857918071036 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 140-147

Author(s):

Elizabeth Johansen

Keyword(s):

Global Health ◽

Human Factors ◽

Case Studies ◽

Medical Device ◽

Medical Devices ◽

International Electrotechnical Commission ◽

Medical Device Development ◽

Device Development ◽

Multiple Levels ◽

The U.S

Including human factors during medical device development leads to better outcomes as recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Startup companies have historically been a major source of medical device innovation. However, many startups are unaware of the field of human factors or do not know the value it can bring in creating safe and effective medical devices that are well-adopted in the market. In this paper, there are four ideas for including human factors during medical device development at startups: demonstrating the value of human factors to startups; collaborating on early funding proposals; delivering value on multiple levels simultaneously; and using resources creatively and judicially. These ideas are illustrated in 3 case studies.

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Ultrastructural changes in murine lymphoma cells exposed to ultraviolet-A radiation

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010008482x ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 104-105

Author(s):

Delma P. Thomas ◽

Dianne E. Godar

Keyword(s):

Medical Devices ◽

Blood Cells ◽

White Blood Cells ◽

Consumer Products ◽

Ultrastructural Changes ◽

Ultraviolet A ◽

Uv Spectrum ◽

Lymphoma Cells ◽

Murine Lymphoma ◽

Transmission Electron

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from all three waveband regions of the UV spectrum, UVA (320-400 nm), UVB (290-320 nm), and UVC (200-290 nm), can be emitted by some medical devices and consumer products. Sunlamps can expose the blood to a considerable amount of UVR, particularly UVA and/or UVB. The percent transmission of each waveband through the epidermis to the dermis, which contains blood, increases in the order of increasing wavelength: UVC (10%) < UVB (20%) < UVA (30%). To investigate the effects of UVR on white blood cells, we chose transmission electron microscopy to examine the ultrastructure changes in L5178Y-R murine lymphoma cells.

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Bacterial biofilm behavior in water-supply lines of dental units

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100124811 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 882-883

Author(s):

B.D. Tall ◽

K.S. George ◽

R. T. Gray ◽

H.N. Williams

Keyword(s):

Water Supply ◽

Medical Devices ◽

Biofilm Formation ◽

Bacterial Biofilm

Studies of bacterial behavior in many environments have shown that most organisms attach to surfaces, forming communities of microcolonies called biofilms. In contaminated medical devices, biofilms may serve both as reservoirs and as inocula for the initiation of infections. Recently, there has been much concern about the potential of dental units to transmit infections. Because the mechanisms of biofilm formation are ill-defined, we investigated the behavior and formation of a biofilm associated with tubing leading to the water syringe of a dental unit over a period of 1 month.

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