Design Group

What we do:

The Design Group designs and implements low-cost medical devices tailored to needs and resources available in low-resource areas. Ideas for projects come directly from the needs assessment conducted during our annual trips to one of our partner hospitals abroad. The Design Group meets weekly after regular weekly club meetings to brainstorm, design, build, and test our devices.

Next year, we will continue developing a low-cost neonatal pulse oximeter and infant phototherapy systems for Kyebi Government Hospital and Akyem Dwenase Health Centre. We will also expand Nurture Nest, the Maternal Wellness App, at Akyem Dwenase to support maternal care. New projects include detachable stirrups for Akyem Dwenase, and an Oxygen Purity Analyzer for Kyebi Hospital. These are the highest priority, in-scope projects that resulted from the needs assessments of Greater Accra Regional Hospital (RIDGE), Akyem Dwenase Health Centre, and Kyebi Hospital during our trip last March to Ghana.

2024-2025

During our 2024 trip to Ghana, we delivered the three design projects we had been working on for the past year. We conducted a thorough needs assessment to develop new design projects for the following year. We interviewed Clinical Engineers, Technicians, and Patient Care staff at Kyebi Government Hospital, RIDGE Hospital, and the Akyem Dwenase Clinic to identify critical medical device needs. Based on our findings, we plan to pursue the development of a low-cost Neonates Pulse-Oximeter for the Kyebi Government Hospital, an EHR system for the Akyem Dwenase Health Centre, and a low-cost Infant Phototherapy Device for RIDGE Hospital.

The Need:

The Kyebi Government Hospital's engineers, care providers, and administrative staff identified the crucial need for low-cost, sustainable neonatal pulse oximeters. A large percentage of medical devices in Ghana are damaged during importation and transit, making them nonfunctional and contributing to "equipment graveyards." In addition to meeting the hospitals immediate need for neonatal pulse oximeters, IGH hopes to overcome these unsustainable methods by advancing the sustainable development of medical technology in Ghana, and fostering international student collaboration with our partner chapters. 

The Akyem Dwenase Health Centre faces a significant shortage of medical technology. In hopes of enhancing the efficiency of rural health facilities, IGH aims to develop an electronic health record system to store patient information and clinical records. The overall goals of this project are to fulfill the immediate needs of the clinic's staff and to inform a proactive, sustainable implementation of training protocols for healthcare personnel in Ghana. 

Neonatal jaundice affects a large number of newborns and required medical intervention. RIDGE Hospital, among many others, faces an extremely limited supply chain, resulting in the purchase of low-quality and up-charged infant phototherapy devices. Our goal is to design and deliver a low-cost, high-quality, maintainable, and reproducible infant phototherapy system to RIDGE Hospital, in addition to informing future sustainable development of medical devices and promoting awareness of the need for this type of development.

The Design:

• At Ridge Hospital, an infant phototherapy system was delivered to the NICU for neonates with jaundice with collaboration of University of Ghana students. 

• At Akyem Dwenase Health Center, the design team introduced a maternal wellness app to support the health needs of pregnant and postpartum patients. The prototype was presented to local care providers who responded positively. They noted that the current app content aligns well with the concerns of their patients and emphasized that the deployed version will be both helpful and widely used. They also provided valuable feedback, suggesting the addition of content focused on delivery safety, nutrition, and postpartum complications—areas we plan to expand upon next year.

• At Kyebi Government Hospital, the design team delivered a neonatal pulse oximeter that adapts adult finger-type devices to fit neonatal feet. The pulse oximeter was also brought to the NICU for testing with nurses and physicians. Feedback was very constructive—staff preferred our design over a commercially available device we brought for comparison. One area for improvement is the connection point between the foot and the device, which can be enhanced through resizing. The clinical engineering team will continue testing, and with a 3D printer on site, there is strong potential for rapid prototyping and further development.

2023-2024

After our 2023 trip to Ghana, we decided on three design projects to tackle. During the trip, we carried out a needs assessment at Kyebi Government Hospital, RIDGE Hospital, and the Akyem Dwenase Clinic. We spoke with several nurses, doctors, and technicians from different departments to see which medical devices were giving them the most problems. Based on our findings, we decided to design a 3D-printed oxygen splitter, suction pump alarm system, and a low-cost hospital bed. The design constraints that applied to all of our projects were that they needed to be composed of accessible materials, resistant to medical-grade cleaning, low-cost, and replicable.

The Need:

The Kyebi Government Hospital was struggling to supply all of their patients with oxygen due to an insufficient number of oxygen regulators. Therefore, they requested a medical-grade oxygen splitter which could effectively split the flow of oxygen from a single regulator to supply two patients with oxygen simultaneously.

RIDGE Hospital staff expressed that their suction pump machines would face frequent liquid overflow with no warning, therefore damaging the mechanism. We proposed an alarm/buzzer system which would alert staff once the liquid levels were high, indicating that the suction machine needs to be stopped and emptied. 

The Akyem Dwenase Health Center's newly constructed unit was lacking hospital beds. Therefore, they requested a low-cost and functional hospital bed design with instructions.

The Design:

• With design constraints such as accessibility, low-cost, and reproducibility, we created a low-cost 3D printed oxygen splitter made out of biocompatible PLA filament for the Kyebi Government Hospital. We also donated a 3D printer to Kyebi Government Hospital so that they could produce more splitters as needed and print any additional projects. 

• The Suction Pump Alarm design for RIDGE Hospital consisted of an infrared emitter, infrared sensor, a buzzer, and a battery pack. The emitter and sensor were positioned just below the fill line on the canister and initiated an alarm sequence once the fluid levels inside the canister interrupted the signal between them. The sounding of the buzzer indicates a full canister and starts the process of emptying the fluid before mechanical disruption occurs. 

• IGH collaborated with University of Ghana students to design a sustainable, low-cost hospital bed frame for the Akyem Dwenase Health Centre. University of Ghana students received the funding to purchase additional hospital bed materials and construct the beds after our visit. 

2022-2023

This year, we primarily focused on ECG electrodes and a baby incubator prototype based off a past Capstone project. We finalized a reusable, adhesive-based ECG electrode design that improved conductance and reusability over our previous prototypes. We also began research on creating an improved, low-cost infant incubator. This year spawned our new partnerships with medical facilities in Ghana, where new projects were generated from in-person needs assessments. 

2021-2022

Electrodes and Pulse Oximeter

2020-2021

Electrodes

2019-2020

After our first trip to Ethiopia, we decided to disaffiliate from EWH and refocus the Design Group. During the trip, we interviewed several nurses, doctors, and technicians from different departments to see which medical devices were giving them the most problems. Based on our findings, we decided to make a LED surgical lamp prototype.

The Need:

The hospital suffered frequent power outages and a lack of consumables. As one can imagine, having the power, and thus, the lights, go out during a surgery can be extremely dangerous. In addition, since most of the surgical lamps were donated, they relied on halogen bulbs, which are much more expensive to import from overseas.

The Design:

• With those design constraints, we created a low-cost ($150) surgical lamp that used LED bulbs and was powered by a car battery. 

• We communicated back and forth with the technicians in the Biomedical Engineering Department to ensure that all of the materials used were available in Addis Ababa. We used mostly aluminum rods, springs, and hinges to assemble the lamp. 

• We brought the prototype to Ethiopia on our second annual trip and worked with the technicians to solve a few problems we encountered, such as the weight of the battery hindering the lamp’s mobility, exposed wires, and the weight of the bulbs preventing the lamp from the staying up.

2018-2019

The following year, we created a side-stream capnometer for EWH’s design competition.

• A capnography or capnometry device measures the concentration of exhaled carbon dioxide, also known as end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2).

The Need:

According to a study done by the Global Capnography Project, published in the journal, Anesthesia:

“There is a clear need for middle and low-income countries to have access to a simple and life-saving method of monitoring a patient’s breathing, called capnography.”

11,000 potentially fatal anesthetic accidents could be prevented every year by access to a capnograph.

Side-stream Capnography:

• Side-stream: An indirect method of measuring exhaled CO2 in a non-intubated patient

• Sensor located away from the airway

• Gas moved to sensor by pump inside the monitor

• Use with cannula or adapt for ventilator airway

• Water traps, filters, or dehumidification tubing may be required

Design Process:

• After many attempts to get the IR emitter working, the I2C protocol worked with the emitter

• A proper holder for the device was designed in SolidWorks

• A cannula was fitted to the device’s opening and exit for circulation

• The code was written and a Adafruit screen was coded to display the Co2 emission in standard format

2017-2018

This was our first year as an organization and we were affiliated with Engineering World Health (EWH). For EWH’s annual design competition, we developed a low-cost suction machine, useful for medical practices involving the extraction of bodily fluids during surgery.

The Idea:

• Select a suction machine from an Engineering World Health survey of doctors about common medical devices they are lacking.

• Will be used in surgery to clear operational site.

• Medical suction machines:

  • Clear airways of saliva, blood, vomit, or other fluid.

  • Portable equipment costs $300 – $1000+

Our Design:

• Portable air compressors for tires have a motor which push air into a tire.

• This flow is conserved, with a hole in the motor for sucking in the motor.

• An attachment through this hole, with a hose and filter system adjusted for liquid usage was made and demonstrated to work to a certain standard.

• This design is made with many objectives in mind:

  • Low cost:  Most suction machines are extremely pricey, orders of magnitude more than our assembly

  • Ability to run on different sources: The tire pump was designed to run on the standard 12 Volt car battery, and has a power outlet adapter if needed, as well.

  • Easy to understand: This device is simple enough and relatively easy to take apart and reconstruct, useful to overcome the barrier of a low number of technicians and engineers in certain countries

To create our design we used:

• Car tire pump repurposed to provide vacuum

• Battery / AC power

• Easily replaceable fluid collection bin

• Our design was assembled for ~$60!