2024

Introduction and Preparations – Ansh

Posted on by ar152

                          Hey y’all, it’s nice to meet you!

Me (left) and Vivek!

My name is Ansh, and I’m a rising junior at Baker College majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Global Health Technologies. I was first introduced to the field of Global Health through the introductory GLHT201 course. A semester’s worth of lessons, talks from guest speakers, and team projects later, I decided to try hands-on engineering and design myself through the Introduction to Appropriate Global Health Design course. Alongside a team of four students, I worked to improve the complicated, unfamiliar nature of the Laerdal reusable neonatal bag-valve masks, a device commonly used in low-resource settings for newborn resuscitation. Our design process had to take into account the various constraints that extended beyond financial limitations–many of the birth attendants in these settings using this device had a limited education background and were less familiar with medical devices. To address this, we collectively designed an alternative device significantly reduced assembly and disassembly times, critical for urgent moments where such devices needed to be ready at a moment’s notice.

This experience placed me at the intersection of medicine and health technologies where I became fascinated by the idea of innovatively addressing health disparities across low-resource settings within realistic constraints. This summer, I’m thrilled to be part of Rice360’s internship team in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where I (alongside two teammates: Zoe Wang and Anathea Carrigan) will be working with the Dominican Foundation for Mothers and Infants (DOFMI) to assess some critical health challenges.

Since starting this internship, I feel like I’ve dove headfirst into a whirlwind of excitement and learning. Background research into the Rice360 projects we’re bringing to the Dominican Republic, literature reviews into the basis of the assigned DOFMI projects we’ll be working on, and meetings with our DOFMI partners have all headlined our preparation efforts.

Our first project involves a gastroschisis device made from urine and IV bags, an innovative, low-cost alternative to silo bags used to prevent neonatal deaths from gastroschisis. We’ll mainly be conducting bench and Full Scale model testing to evaluate the device’s performance in a controlled environment. For our second project, we’ll be working on ScarStretch, a tool aimed at improving the effectiveness of scar massage therapy in low-resource settings. Alongside Dr. Angelica Floren from DOFMI, we also plan on working on a series of projects exploring alternatives to maternal care facilities for Dominican mothers in rural settings, evaluating fetal heart rate monitors in maternal hospitals, and conducting a longitudinal scale survey of the current use of Pumani bCPAP machines in clinical settings across the country. Our goal is to reduce neonatal mortality while maintaining the highest standard of care for mothers, something I hope we can achieve as we take on these projects.

As I work alongside partners in this new, unfamiliar environment, I aim to maintain an open mindset working collaboratively across cultures, disciplines, and borders to develop sustainable solutions that improve health equity. I also hope to improve on my Spanish-speaking skills, especially amidst the rapid conversation-based clinical settings I plan on stepping into.

I’m consistently fascinated by the challenges healthcare professionals face to maintain the same level of high-quality care each day, with every single patient. One of the reasons I’m so passionate about global health is that it provides a sense of understanding to connect with people on a far deeper level, and this holds true regardless of setting. It’s about more than just treating diseases; it’s about understanding the social, economic, and cultural factors that influence health and working together to create environments where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. This internship is already proving to be an incredible journey of learning and growth, and I’m eager to see how much more I will gain from this experience.

As I embark on this journey, I am filled with a sense of purpose and excitement. I’m eager to learn from the challenges and successes that lie ahead, and I’m committed to making a meaningful impact through our work with DOFMI.

Thank you all for tuning in to my first blog post, and I hope you’ll stay around!

A Little About Myself – Zoe

Posted on by Zoe Wang

Hey everyone! Welcome to my blog ~ I’m happy that you’re here!

My name is Zoe, and I’m a rising senior from McMurtry College majoring in Bioscience (Cell Biology & Genetics) and minoring in Global Health Technologies. As an aspiring physician, I was first drawn to the Introductory Global Health class as an avenue to learn more about global health disparities, initiatives addressing these issues, and hear from experts around the world. A year after taking this class and eager to explore the intersection of engineering and medicine further, I had the opportunity to work on a senior design team to address challenges in the consistency of scar massaging and the time commitment burden on caregivers, especially since burn injuries disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries.

Working on a team of diverse individuals and collaborating with local experts under the guidance of our physician mentors, Dr. Hannia Pacheco Gutiérrez and Ms. Evelyn Brenes from Costa Rica, we created ScarStretch, a low-cost, automated scar massage device for pediatric patients with burn scars. I learned new technical skills and how to implement design choices catered to local culture and influences, which certainly expanded my horizons! This project fueled my passion for addressing health disparities through medical innovation, and I’m so grateful to be learning more as a Rice360 Summer Intern in the Dominican Republic.

Ansh, Anathea, and I are working alongside the Dominican Foundation for Mothers & Infants, with a mission of providing the best possible care for mothers and infants. This summer, under the mentorship of Dr. Angelica Floren, we will be observing hospitals’ current fetal heart monitoring systems and equipment, assessing the Pumani utilization and functional status, evaluating the standard of care in maternity waiting rooms, and documenting any needs we find. I hope our interviews, observations, and literature review will help decrease neonatal mortality and improve a mother’s experience within the hospital!

We will also have the opportunity to interview and receive feedback from doctors and nurses in a burn unit on ScarStretch—I’m excited to hear their perspectives on the current prototype. Furthermore, we are working on No Mo’ Silo, a low-cost silo bag to treat babies suffering from the birth defect gastroschisis, and will have the opportunity to discuss our ideas with doctors. In all these projects and observations, I’m looking forward to meeting new individuals and collaborating with them to reach our common goal!

While my time in the Dominican Republic is mainly focused on prototyping, interviewing, and needs assessment, I also want to use this unique opportunity to immerse myself in a new, unfamiliar environment rich with culture. Whether it’s learning Spanish, asking questions, making new connections, or trying new foods or activities I can’t experience back at home, it will truly be a summer to explore outside my comfort zone, and I’m ready to embrace it all :))

~ Zoe