Bon Dia! For this blog post, in honor of the device fact sheets we are putting together and translating, I thought I’d focus on the three technologies we brought with us to get feedback on.
The first is Chemoseal:
What it does: Chemoseal is designed to be a low cost, easy to use device to aid in the transfer of chemotherapy agents from vial to IV bag. Right now, in low and middle-income countries, the risk for healthcare worker exposure is much higher than in the higher resource settings. The protective gear often found in higher resource settings is too expensive and therefore, workers often go without. This leads to the potential for horrible health issues for the healthcare workers down the line. Even many of the devices that have been created and geared towards lower resource settings still prove to be too expensive and often have as many as 15 steps for use. Chemoseal, however, is much more cost effective with only 6 steps. The Chemoseal has also proven to be leak proof and durable.
Next are the Biopsy Forceps:
What it does: The Biopsy Forceps are designed to work with an HRME (High-Resolution Microendoscopy) device to aid in diagnosis of cervical cancer. Currently, it is difficult to photograph an area of cervix and then take a biopsy of the same location. The Rice 360 forceps have been developed to integrate forceps and the HRME so that a healthcare worker can accurately biopsy the same area as photographed, without leaving the area of interest or switching devices.
Lastly, Melacap System:
What it does: The phone attachment part of the Melacap system has been developed in order to better the quality of photos taken out in rural Brazil by healthcare workers. These workers will then use the Melacap app to send the photos back to be analyzed by Dr. Carlos. The device has two parts. The first aids in taking a faraway picture, set at 10 cm, and works by giving the camera a more substantial item to focus on. The second part of the device takes a close up picture at about 3cm (~1in) with controlled lighting and optics. This device, in collaboration with the app, ensures that the pictures are accurate and in focus.
Pictured is a slightly older prototype
What we want know: In order to make any design improvements, we will talk to nurses about the devices and get their feedback. This will hopefully take the technologies to the next stage and in the future to clinical trials and implementation!
Portu Lesson:
some words we have learned:
preto= black convidado= guest saude= health prato= plate conta= cuenta
Tchau!