Sep 10, 2011

Ingenious medical ideas that work in developing countries


[A] nipple shield for breastfeeding HIV-positive mothers, which can block transmission of the virus to their babies; an eRanger ambulance – a motorbike sidecar stretcher that can handle rough terrain far better than a four-wheeled ambulance and is much cheaper; and a stethoscope that can attach to a mobile phone, allowing doctors to monitor hard-to-reach patients remotely.
The heart-rate monitoring device is particularly ingenious as the microphone on a mobile phone is used as a stethoscope to analyse and record heart sounds. This means a patient's condition can be analysed by a doctor hundreds of miles away. The device specifically targets tuberculosis pericarditis, which affects around 10% of all TB patients and has an unusually high mortality rate (40%). It would be particularly useful for remote rural communities where access to qualified doctors for routine check-ups can be difficult.
Source (@cblatts).

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