But first, a little bit about myself and how I ended up here. My interest in the medical field and my desire to learn more about the most pressing issues in global health today prompted me to enroll in the introduction to global health class this past fall. In this class, I was not only challenged to reconsider my preconceived notions about global health and international collaboration but encouraged to take an active role in prototyping low-cost colostomy bags. I was eager to think critically about a prominent medical condition and apply some creativity while trying to come up with low-cost, accessible solutions. My positive experiences in this class left me wanting to do more and inspired me to apply for the Rice360 Summer Internship. And here I am!
This summer, Ansh, Zoe and I will be working with the Dominican Foundation for Mothers and Infants. With the guidance of our on-site mentors, George Suazo, Teresa Narváez, and Dr. Angelica Floren, we will be exploring the available resources and current standards of care in hospitals across the country. More specifically, we will be observing the functionality and utilization of Rice360’s Pumani bCPAP machines, current methods of intrapartum fetal heartbeat monitoring, and methods for warming premature neonates in the NICU. I am hoping that through our observations and research we will be able to identify some critical needs in the Dominican Republic and develop some new project ideas to bring back to Houston with us.
While in Santo Domingo, we are also looking to receive some feedback from local experts on two prototypes that have been developed by student teams at Rice. We plan on presenting our first prototype, ScarStretch, an automated device for massaging pediatric burn scars, to physicians in a hospital burn unit. Our second prototype, No Mo’ Silo, is a low-cost alternative to silo bags, used to treat gastroschisis, a condition where an infant’s small intestine is exposed due to improper formation of the abdominal wall.
Although we’ll be pretty busy making clinical visits and working on improving our prototypes, I also want to be sure to fully embrace the Dominican culture while I’m here. Ansh, Zoe and I have already started to explore different restaurants around Santo Domingo, stumble our way through some conversations in Spanish, and search for somewhere to learn merengue!
I cannot wait for all the new experiences I will have over the next two months, and I look forward to sharing them with you all.
Till next time,
Anathea