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…diagnosis and the treatment in clinical suspected patients and the sensitivity of the test varies, based on the severity of the infection. Solution The project team sought to develop a rapid and sensitive nano-based immunosensor for the detection of bilharzia in Kenya. The overall goal was to develop nano kits that could be distributed to the endemic areas for early detection. The team…the nano kits has not been completed. Strategies to do this, such as identifying the casing material for the strips and also the transducer for the analytical signal, are underway. A key achievement of the work to date has been the formation of collaborations, which have been instrumental in the isolation of the key analyte…

…impacted. Infants that do not receive enough omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy are at risk of developing vision and nerve problems. Solution In this project, the team sought to develop poultry diets with increased omega-3 fatty acids, so as to improve omega-3 fatty acid levels in eggs fed to children to improve their nutrition. Flaxseed oil…Outcome The project results showed that, by enriching the diet of layer birds with 3% flaxseed oil, there is an increase in specific fatty acids that make up omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, resulting in eggs high in omega-3 fatty acids. Total omega-3 fatty acids were 2.54 times higher in the 3% flaxseed oil eggs…a hatchery to produce layer day-old chicks, in order to scale up the project.   VOA Farms in Kumasi supported the construction of a 4,000-bird-capacity poultry house for the project. The team plans to apply for Transition To Scale Phase II funding to perform confirmatory analysis, including examining local potential sources (garlic, ginger and other seeds) of…

Issue The majority of rural household latrines in Tanzania are simple pits that do not meet the acceptable definitions for improved and hygienic sanitation facilities. Studies examining consumer demand and preferences for household sanitation facilities in Tanzania show that the majority of households were not satisfied with their place of defecation (58–95%) and most households were willing to make improvements. Cost was the main constraint to making improvements to latrines, as most households rely on their own savings for latrine construction and it takes over…TZS ($9 USD) per month and the current premium charged is 6,000 TZH ($3 USD). The objective was to recruit enough paying customers and, once there is uptake, increase the price to cover costs. The customers were very satisfied with the latrine and, over the eight months of the service period, the majority (84%) of…

IssueSolid fuel fumes emanating from open fires result in 4.3 million premature deaths each year. Women and children account for 61% of the global burden of disease that is attributable to household air pollution (HAP). Diseases caused by HAP include: lung cancer, stroke, heart disease, COPD, cataracts and respiratory infections.In Pakistan, half the population (114 million people) lives…goal of 400 units. The clean cookstove was developed and sold for $24 USD, a fraction of the price of imported stoves that were introduced to the region.Follow-up studies found the clean cookstove reduced people’s exposure from 1975 mg of particulate matter to just 328 mg, likely contributing to the prevention of a host of…

Issue Pesticides are extensively used in developed and developing countries to increase crop yield. However, pesticide use results in an estimated 26 million poisoning cases and 220,000 deaths annually, so accurate testing is required to measure pesticide safety. Solution Crematoria proposed screening pesticide molecules against human biological targets in silicon, to ensure pesticide safety. Previous…use of binding data, which is measured in solution as opposed to typically used x-ray co-crystals. However, when trying to identify potential off-target effects, the error rate for any target is multiplied by the number of targets against the performance of a molecule and was being analyzed.  Given even a moderate false-negative or false-positive rate,…

Issue Myocardial infarction (MI) is difficult to detect in the early stages. Due to delayed and uncertain diagnosis, physicians are often unable to take treatment decisions during the ‘golden hour’, i.e., before commencement of necrosis. These delays can cause incapacitation or death. Solution The project team set out to build a smart instrument that could rapidly diagnose an MI. The instrument would enable a physician to arrive at a treatment decision very early and would even be suitable for use by a qualified nurse at a rural healthcare centre in India. The device employs a microcantilever-based biosensing system to detect early cardiac markers (e.g., myoglobin) that…presence of a specific antigen, the microcantilever deflects, due to surface stress changes caused by bio-molecular recognition. Mechanical movement of the cantilever is converted into an electrical signal by a piezoresistor embedded inside the cantilever, which is detected by ultra-sensitive electronics. Outcome The team has managed to optimize the different components necessary to develop a…to ensure that the resistors do not short·         development of a ‘frugally-engineered’  bio-chip that consists of the functionalized cantilevers, fluid cell, PCB/connectors and the liquid inlet/outlet. The experimental set-up (consisting of biochip, syringe pump and detection electronics) was then integrated. Intelligent experiments were designed to check the stability of the cantilevers’ resistance in liquids, tests with general…

…artificial limbs is a key part of the rehabilitation process, restoring mobility and reducing the effects of the disability. However, there is currently a large, unmet need for artificial knee joint technologies that are functional and affordable. Solution The aim of the project was to test and further develop a functional and affordable artificial knee joint (AT-Knee) for lower-limb amputations, intended for use globally in both high- and low-income countries. The AT-Knee is…As a result, 90% of these users preferred the AT-Knee for daily use over existing technologies. Other benefits of the AT-Knee technology include ease of maintenance, durability, set-up and alignment, making it ideal for use in many low- and middle-income countries. On the basis of this successful proof-of-concept, Grand Challenges Canada has continued to support LegWorks to bring this innovation to scale through refinement of the design for manufacturing and clinical application, and developing manufacturing processes for production. Since the commercial launch of the AT-Knee in early 2016, nearly 800 knees have been ordered…

Issue In developing countries there is lack of participation by male spouses in the preparation for childbirth. Most maternal and child health programs seek to address the health needs of women and children and ignore men, resulting in little participation by men, resulting in poor outcomes for women and children at delivery. However, in families, …explored, packaged and tested to measure the effect on improving women’s birth preparedness, planning, quality of delivery services and facility delivery rate. This was a prospective quasi-experimental design (pre-post intervention and comparison group) in two health sub-district communities in Uganda, with 670 couples with gestation age 3–7 months enrolled in the study. Outcome Results from this study showed that there…preparedness. The most significant improvements with male involvement were in birth preparedness actions, including saving money for transport, purchasing supplies and seeking skilled delivery. Health education and promotion to male partners of pregnant women resulted in a significant increase in: ·         Female’s birth preparedness:  78.1% from 9.8% in the intervention arm, compared to 22.3% from…