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…could dramatically raise the global level of diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, a problem that affects 1 in 100 people — 65 million worldwide, an estimated 80 to 90% of them in developing countries, of which at least 60% go untreated. The high incidence of epilepsy in developing countries is attributed to higher rates of…brain cells communicate with each other. Typically, a test involves placing electrodes on the scalp, connected by wires to a speaker and recording machine. The brain's electrical signals are turned into wave patterns viewed on a computer as the patient is asked to, for example, breathe quickly and deeply, or to look at a bright flashing light. Dr. Mateen and colleagues will gather the results of tests conducted with the EEG app, developed with the help of Danish Technical University using open-source software (offering the potential for rapid global scale-up), and compare them against those of more expensive stationary equipment. The new device connects 14 electrode leads on the scalp through the headphone jack of a tablet…

Issue Diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of mortality among children under five, and is estimated to cause an even greater burden of morbidity because of impairment in cognitive and physical functioning. Water treatment at the point of use is estimated to reduce diarrhea risk by 42%. However, despite the existence of a number of effective treatment technologies, boiling water remains the primary method of sterilizing water in low- and middle-income countries. Other household water treatment methods have significant barriers to use, such as cost, lack of availability and cultural barriers. Solution This project investigated the potential for a low-cost household water treatment intervention – a water pasteurization indicator – to improve household drinking water quality and reduce childhood diarrhea in poor communities in the…formative research to understand the barriers and motivating factors influencing household water treatment in two communities (one peri-urban and one rural) lacking access to municipal piped water supplies near Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon. A randomized controlled trial was then undertaken to evaluate the water pasteurization indicator. Outcome Although they demonstrated the feasibility of teaching…

Issue Around 400 million people living in the developing world are disabled and they are often the poorest members of society. To qualify for benefits as a disabled individual in India, a disability certificate is required, which is granted after an examination by a doctor affiliated with a government hospital. Fewer than 10% of disabled …assessment of physical parameters and range of movements that is based on a complex set of mathematical calculations. Solution The object of Project DAS Simple was to design and develop a digital home- or point-of-care-based reliable Locomotor Disability Assessment application. This mobile application would guide the disability assessment, automate calculations, provide instant analysis, certify and…

Issue In Uganda, individuals living in urban slums have a low uptake of family planning services. Barriers such as the high costs of services in private clinics, wait times, and long distance travel to public health facilities continue to prevent family planning uptake among marginalized groups. These issues have culminated in non-existent follow-up care and low awareness of comprehensive family planning…of a free family planning benefits card (FPBC) as an incentive to increase family planning uptake among individuals living in urban slums. The study used a quasi-experimental design to assess the effectiveness of the program and to evaluated the economic impact of the program. They partnered with the local insurance firm to design and manage…cards that provided free access to family planning services. Outcome Acceptability of the FPBC was high (93%) as only 7% of people offered the cards refused. Reasons for refusal included: infrequent sex (30%), wanting to get pregnant (20%), and lack of interest (20%). After 6 months, 72% of those who were issued cards reported using…

Issue Food safety regulation in industrialized countries and adoption of the Codex Alimentarius have not managed to reduce the global incidence of food-borne diseases, because such strict regulation does not exist in many developing countries. A lack of certified processing facilities is one of the major contributors to the ongoing problem of food-borne diseases. Solution…By using such facilities, farmers can supply higher-value markets, such as supermarkets and export markets. The proof-of-concept pilot involved installing a low-cost and food-safety certifiable processing facility for small-scale vegetable producers in Guatemala, and testing it to ensure that the conditions in which the food processing was being undertaken complied with food safety requirements. The !nspiraFarms…processing area; a water-harvesting, purification and recycling system; equipment, machinery and agrochemical segregation storage; production management spaces; and workers’ areas (for both open field and processing work). Outcome This project successfully designed, manufactured and installed the first food-safety certifiable Horticulture Processing Facility in Guatemala, which is now being used by farmers. These farmers are already diversifying their markets and…initial commercial sales, more than 150 potential clients have expressed interest in acquiring !nspiraFarms' facilities. To date, more than 100 formal quotes (5M EUR value) have been supplied to customers. !nspiraFarms is scaling up in Central America and East Africa, doubling production and planning to sell and install one unit every two weeks over 12 months.

Issue Lack of early diagnosis of pathogens is a major contributing factor to the increased mortality from infectious diseases seen in tropical countries. The World Health Organization considers malaria to be the most devastating parasitic infection and one of the three infectious diseases posing the largest health burden on the world’s population. Solution The project…cloned and recombinantly expressed in E. coli. Other biomarkers were further analyzed to obtain exposed fragments of their parental protein. Recombinant proteins and peptide fragments were used for the selection and evolution of high-affinity binders (aptamers) by applying the SELEx technology. Concomitantly, the team developed a low-cost optical adaptor for fluorescence quantification, using smartphones to…chemically modified aptamers, and data collection and analysis using smartphone capabilities and low-cost optical adapters. The Android application for smartphones allows the recording and quantification of fluorescent signals. As developed, the platform could be scalable to adapt commercially available rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) based on antibody-mediated recognition of pathogens. The team plans to raise funds…

…but are the most expensive vaccines procured by international organizations. Annually, there are 50 million girls of eligible vaccination age in LMICs. Solution The project initially sought to determine whether microalgae could be used to produce a vaccine for papillomavirus (HPV), which is responsible for 70% of cervical cancer cases. While developing the necessary tools to produce the HPV vaccine in microalgae, the team also chose…system, and revisit the microalgae production system when more funds become available. By focusing on developing the secondary production system, the team was able to substantially improve upon this production system and achieve significant production levels of HPV vaccine. The team achieved high-level production of HPV vaccine L1 protein for the most common type 16 and type 18 HPV subtypes. In as…

…countries with incontinence. Emergency obstetrical care is rare and women are often disempowered from seeking it. Solution Implemented in Uganda, the project developed a grassroots social network to identify, treat and reintegrate obstetric fistula patients, while developing projects and activities to generate funds to support a revolving loan program for economic empowerment of survivors. A grassroots educational program was carried out, using drama and acting to increase awareness and advocacy, and to generate funds to support the…obstetric fistula through the network, and the number of fistula survivors benefiting from revolving loan programs. Through Fistula Survivors’ Solidarity groups, treated women were able to put up spirited performances aimed at promoting awareness on fistula before large audiences, both at local and national levels. More than 2,000 women were identified through the program, of whom 1,046 received support and…