Now that I have been home for a week, I’m not sure how to feel. Everything is familiar yet different at the same time. I somehow managed to go from living with 10 other people to 11 considering I had extended family in town. However, it was quite easy to keep busy with unpacking and spending time with friends and family. Every once in a while when things slowed down, the little things would remind me of my time in Malawi and the people that became another family. Like making tea and piling on the bus to head to the Poly design studio in the morning or joking around while cooking dinner. It feels like only yesterday we were at the studio working on our prototypes.
On our last day in Malawi, saying goodbye was the hardest part. In the midst to completing our presentations and celebrating our hard work, we realized that it was time to say goodbye to everything we had known for the past few months, goodbye to the Poly design studio, goodbye to market in central Blantyre, and goodbye to our friends. Without them, I don’t think I would have enjoyed my time in Malawi. Sometime in the distant future when I will look back on this time, it won’t be the little things I remember, but the friends we made and relationships we built.
Overall, this experience has been one that I will cherish forever. It taught me so much about engineering, people, new cultures, and healthcare in different countries. I hope the knowledge I have gained does not end here and I can continue similar work in the future. I am proud of my teammates and our engineering accomplishments and I wish them all the best in their future endeavors. I know they are going to do great things and impact people’s lives for the better.
I also want to say a special thank you to donors who supported Rice 360 and made this internship possible without your help I would not have another place to call home.
Our last couple of days in Malawi were a whirlwind and I honestly can’t believe that it is over. Of course, we had a lot to do and not enough time, but part of the experience is making do with the time and resources available. On Monday, we were finally able to set up the first ever design studio at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST). For majority of the summer, the design studio has been under construction, but we finally had the opportunity to view the space and at least begin the process of organizing and assembling the equipment. Due to time restraints, we only had the Rice and MUST students set up the new studio while everyone else continued to work on their projects. Our focus for the day was to get as much of the 3D printers built as possible, create an organized inventory check out system, label everything, and make sure all the laptops brought had the proper software. Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish everything we set out to accomplish given that we only had a day, but we made a good start and left and extensive list of tasks to improve the studio in the future. One day I hope I get the chance to see it in use knowing it will encourage students to learn through hands on experience.
Tuesday, the final workday before presentations, was a long day to say the least. The only way to we were going to accomplish everything remaining in the project was to make design decisions together and then divide and conquer. Once deciding on the best way to approach completing the last portion of the project, Maureen and I worked on the final presentation, while Cholo and Tebogo started assembling the acrylic pieces. As we were making the presentation, we had to anticipate that our audience did not have prior knowledge of our project or the need we were trying to solve, yet technical engineering experience
Late night at the studio
as they were mainly professors. With that in mind, our main priority was to demonstrate the need to prevent hypothermia specifically during transportation between the wards, how it significantly impacts a neonate’s health, and how the device functions. After a tedious amount of time, we were able to include the information we wanted and now it was just a matter of making it presentable and easy to understand. By this point, majority of the students had left the studio and the rest of us came to terms that it was going to be a late night, so it was all hands on deck. After putting the last touches on the presentation, I began working on the device with the rest of the team. The device was almost done for the most part, we only had a few brackets to put secure the device which seemed simple enough, but took time working with acrylic and the size of our device. We did one last check to make sure everything was working properly (thankfully it did!) and we Eventually we are able to finish the device and it is a huge relief. Now all that remained was our big final presentation the next day.
Final presentations!
On Wednesday morning, we were all a bundle of nerves for our presentation. For me personally, this was only my second formal engineering presentation, so I was especially nervous to say the least. As the time came near, we each practiced our presentation multiple times to ourselves and each other and made sure everything transitioned smoothly. Luckily our group was going third, so we had the opportunity to observe a few presentations before presenting. Before the first group presented, all the professors and Rice 360 engineers in the audience introduced themselves which only intimidated me more. The first two groups did an amazing job clearly describing the need for their device as well as how it works and handled questions from the audience with ease. Finally, it was our turn and there was no going back. During the presentation, everything went off without a hitch. We remembered to say all the additional information however the questions were more of a challenge. A few of the professors already had experience working with devices in the same field as ours and were more technical with our questions, but having only developed a first iteration, it gave us a lot to consider for future improvements. At the time it felt like we were under a lot of pressure, but we received nothing but positive. Of course, there were questions about why we chose to design something a particular way or if we had considered doing something differently, but that is how progress is made. Obviously, these professors had way more experience and their criticisms could only improve our design and in the end help people. Walking away from that project, we had a long list of future improvements to make and design aspects to reconsider, but it could only get better from there. That last day in Malawi could not have ended better, with everyone together celebrating our accomplishment and looking to the future with hope.
It is surreal that we only have a less than a week left in Malawi. Somehow the time has gone by and I didn’t notice it, but on the other hand we started prototyping! Our focus for the past couple of weeks (sorry it’s been a while since my last post) after the pitch competition has been on finalizing our solution design, get materials, and physically build our prototype. We started by making a few alterations to our final design transitioning from a water heat source to a light bulb heat source and deciding on the exact dimensions for each compartment. Once we had a plan in place, we transitioned towards dividing the work into three components the electronics, heating compartment, and the neonate’s compartment. For our first task, we collectively decided on how the heating system should operate:
Contain a manual on/off switch
Measure the temperature of the neonate’s heated environment
Turn the light bulbs off when the temperature exceeds the desired temperature
Turn the light bulbs on if the temperature falls below the desired temperature
Alert nurses of the temperature
With these criteria in mind, we used various electronics, such as a thermistor, relay, Arduino, LEDs, resistors, and light bulbs, we spent multiple days trying to fit them all together. Each day we were able to build the circuit using the component and then program the Arduino to control the function of that component until we had a completed circuit. Of course, there were challenges along the way with not knowing the proper way to integrate the components together or the code not working, but eventually with enough trouble shooting we were able to acquire accurate temperature readings, automatically turn on/off the light bulbs, and indicate extreme temperatures. Not only were we able to work together and accomplish this task, but we took the time to teach each other the skills and reasoning behind each component so we understood their purpose (relays are really cool by the way).
Once we completed designing the electronics portion of our design, our next goal was to complete the heating compartment which contains the light bulbs, wiring, metal sheet, and insulating material. One challenge we faced in this portion of the design was obtaining the physical materials themselves. It seemed that the best way to know where to get the proper materials was by word of mouth. Luckily the design studio already had plenty of wood available to use, however, the more specific materials were difficult to find. Working with the materials we had in the design studio, we built a simple rectangular box out of sheets of wood. On the bottom face of the box, we decided to add a plank of wood across to attach the light bulbs parallel to bottom and ensure they fit within the specified dimensions of our design. We also added a metal sheet above the incandescent light bulbs to retain heat and lined the inside of the box with aluminum to retain heat for a longer duration of time through insulation and radiation. As we continued to work, there were many decisions and adjustments that needed to be made such as adding a closed off housing area to separate the electrical components from the heat and laser cutting outlets in the box before assembling so the LEDs are visible and power switch inlet could be added. Despite planning our design for a significant amount of time, I realized that there are always going to be on the spot changes when completing a design. Because of this, my team and I had to discuss each possibility and would only move forward when we all agreed on the best option.
After completing the heating compartments, we then started on the base of the design to make the device mobile. Because we had already assembled the heating compartment with limited available space, figuring out a way build a secure and stable attachment point between the legs of the cart to the heating compartment was a challenge. At first, we attempted to attach for legs as a base and then add the wheels however, when we test it, legs were uneven causing it to be slanted (sawing perfectly level and straight lines with a hand saw is difficult). Unfortunately, this meant we had to either redo the base with the hopes of it being level or try an alternate method of attaching the wheels. Knowing that we were still unable to cut straight, we came up with another design that relied less on how the pieces of wood were cut but still stable enough to handle any obstacles when being pushed and this time we were happy with the physical results.
Despite having completed majority of our design, there are only a couple of days left before final presentations and we still have a lot to do, but I am hopeful that we can get it done in time. As for our time outside of the design studio, we had the opportunity to have dinner with the past Malawian interns who did their internship in the United States last year. It was really nice to compare our experiences having both traveled to different countries to work on global health projects. Something I found interesting was that they actually did their internship while Rice was still in school, so they worked mainly with Rice 360 fellows rather than other undergraduate students. I personally was curious to hear some of the cultural differences they found shocking in the US. Apparently one observation they had is how people treat pets as members of their family especially dogs. I can understand their surprise considering all the dogs I have yet to see in Malawi are either guard dogs or strays. It turned out to be a very nice dinner and I wish we could have spent more time with them or even met while we were at Rice.
On another note, here are some pictures from the adventures we have had over the past couple of weeks that I hope you enjoy as much as I did.
Yet another week has gone by and this time with a bit of adventure. This past week seemed to be centered around people and opportunity. Before we left for the Malawi Technology Pitch Innovation Night in Lilongwe, we had the opportunity to visit the NICU at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (Rice’s main hospital partnership in Malawi) and speak with Prince an experienced NICU nurse who is well known in the Rice 360 community. Although Prince is a full-time nurse at the NICU, he has a technical background and is passionate about improving the healthcare at Queens and in Malawi. He has also served as a mentor to many Rice 360 class projects and facilitates the implementation of the new technology developed in the hospitals. Essentially, he is one of the main connections between the theoretical design of a device and actual patient use. Another memorable person we met at Queens was Nurse Florence. She is one of the nurses working with Rice since the very beginning of their partnership and has given feedback on majority of the Rice 360 projects implemented at Queens. While touring the NICU, we had the opportunity to ask Florence about our potential design solution and temperature specifications. She identified the current heating systems in the NICU, but what really caught our attention were the nonfunctional incubators shoved in a corner that are only used to transport babies between the wards and the stationary hot cots used to heat the babies once in the NICU. Originally our design for transport consisted of an enclosed environment with a water heater however after our visit to Queens, we decided to alter source of heat to light bulbs like that of a hot cot. Although our design has gone through many iterations and we do not have all the specifications finalized, I believe this is potentially a reliable alternative to the current methods of neonatal transport between wards.
Broken devices in PAM waiting to be repaired
After we arrived in Lilongwe for the pitch competition, we arranged a visit to the Physical Asset Management Department (PAM), where all the broken and malfunctioning devices go to be repaired, at Kamuzu Central Hospital to gain some more insight to our projects as well as conduct needs finding for possible future projects. We spoke with one of the PAM technicians about some of the most frequent devices that they receive for repairs as well common challenges they face. He said the main challenge they face are insufficient funds which leads multiple complications such as understaffing, a lack of materials (parts, consumables, etc.), and lack of training. This also increases the duration it takes for a device to be delivered to PAM and then be ready for patient use again. Another major problem they face particularly in Lilongwe are dust and humidity. For sensitive medical devices such as oxygen concentrators, this causes the need for frequent repairs and a shorter lifespan of expensive equipment. Ultimately, our visit to PAM was insightful to the treatment and use of medical equipment. It also offered a new engineering perspective on medical devices used in the hospital setting which have not had the opportunity to experience fully. Being able to observe both nurse and technician’s interaction the equipment as an engineer makes me think about the different needs of both parties specific to design of a solution.
Pitch Competition Winners!
That night was the long-awaited Malawi Technology Innovation Pitch Night where ten student teams would compete against each other for the best design concept including one of our own, Simple Ballard. Not only were brilliant students gathering to present their innovative ideas, donors from the Lemelson Foundation and partners of NEST 360 attended as well (no pressure and my team wasn’t even presenting). As the competition began and presentations went on, each team seemed to get better and better. One of my favorite teams to present was Cold Box. The concept behind their project an insulated cold box made for transporting large quantities of blood, vaccines, and other biohazardous materials long distances across Malawi. What really surprised me was how much they had thought through their design to the point of having an existing relationship with the Malawi Blood Transfusion Services and sent a prototype to a company in Geneva in hopes of securing a partnership. Not only did I think this was great project so did the judges because they received second place. Overall each team did very well and was a clear representation of the passion and motivation of students to pursue innovate ideas and impact their community. Although every team was not able to showcase their talent at the pitch competition, there are plenty of students with the same passion for innovation we see working hard on their projects in the design studio and I hope to see them continue it.
Team Neostatic working on our Malawi Technology Innovation Pitch Night Presentation
Last week, we started by creating a proposal for our team projects with the intention of brainstorming and evaluating our solution in the coming days. However, when Dr. Leautaud arrived at Poly from Rice University on Thursday morning, we assumed it was to have a coaching session on our presentations for the pitch competition. Little did we know that we were auditioning for one of the team spots to compete in the pitch competition that afternoon. You could imagine our surprise to find out we needed to complete half of the engineering design process in a matter of hours. This really increased the pressure for my team and I to have solid plan and collaborate on every aspect of our design. When starting this internship, I had already anticipated our project timeline to be at an accelerated pace considering we are working full time on our projects, but with the Malawi Technology Innovation Pitch Night right around the corner, there was added pressure for each team to finalize their solution. Having already written our proposal, we had a few ideas of what our solution would look like, but in that time crunch, we brainstormed, selected a solution to pursue, created our presentation slides, and ended up giving a great presentation. Unfortunately, our group was not selected to present at the pitch competition, but from our experience, I realized the added pressure of a suddenly constricted time frame taught us that timelines are only a suggestion and there will be occasions where you have to improvise in order to accomplish a task. Despite being stressed along the way, this experience also taught me that everyone handles pressure in different ways and working with others requires you to be patient to understand their different approach (especially since I was a bundle of stress).
Biomedical Engineering Student Society
Despite a stressful work week, that weekend, Christina (one of the interns from Poly) invited us to attend the very first Biomedical Engineering Student Society (BESS) meeting. As we approached the room, immediately, we noticed uplifting music and large gathering of people present. What I thought would be a simple ceremony to mark a celebratory first appeared to be party. When we entered the room full of students, all eyes were on us (we may have been a tad late). After filing into the first available seats, the MC for the event announces that each of us will be coming up and introducing ourselves. This came as a surprise considering we had just come to attend the event and support a friend. After each one of us went up and stated the basic name, college, year, and major, the ceremony proceeded with a quiz competition between a handful of biomedical engineers in two teams. This turned out to be no ordinary quiz with both detailed technical and biological questions leaving me stumped majority of the time, but this proved no challenge for the Poly students who fired off answers like it was second nature. Overall, I thought this was a unique way to engage all the students and showcase the brilliant and resourceful students biomedical engineers are. Once the ceremony was over and we went to take pictures to commemorate the event, I saw the sheer number of students that took the time on a Saturday during one of the busiest times of the semester to show their dedication and passion for biomedical engineering. To be honest it was inspiring, especially the amount of time and effort the officers put in to organizing the event considering their schedules as interns, full-time students, or both.
As I recollect on the events that took place during the BESS meeting, I think about my position as the recently appointed treasurer of Society of Women Engineers (SWE). With another year approaching I hope to exude the same excitement and excellence for female engineers of every discipline as the students and officers of BESS have (maybe even steal the quiz competition idea because it was so much fun).
Somehow, a week already flew by in what felt like a matter of hours! This past Monday was officially our first day of work at the Polytechnic Design Studio. We had a warm welcoming introduction from the Dean of Engineering at Malawi Polytechnic University along with a few guest lecturers on the engineering design process with an emphasis on meeting the needs of the people. Our first assignment as interns was the “Just in Time” design challenge. Each team was a group of four student (one from each school) and the challenge was to drop a ping pong ball from one meter, and have it reach the ground in exactly 30 seconds. My teammates, Cholo, Maureen, and Chisomo, created a tube-like path to delay the ball before reaching the bottom. Unfortunately, our delicate paper, tape, and cardboard structure only took the ball 12 seconds to reach the bottom, ultimately failing the challenge, but winning with the longest time out of the other teams! I thought this was a neat way to ease into working with new people on a simple engineering project while observing the team dynamic.
On Tuesday, the we had an engineering skills crash course in Arduino and 3D Printing. In the 3D printing group, our mini project was to design and print a functional syringe. Learning the Solidworks design software seemed simple enough however, the difficult part was deciding how to configure the shapes to match those of the syringe. In the end, we were able to 3D print and assemble the entire syringe. I was proud of the way our group worked together to help one another and complete the finished product.
First hospital visit at Mulanje District Hospital
Later that day, Hillary (the Poly program coordinator) assigned us our teams and team projects before our hospital visits the next day. My team (Maureen, Cholo, and Tebogo) was assigned the neonatal hypothermia prevention in the transport between labor and neonatal wards. That evening, we each conducted background research and formed a set of questions to ask when interviewing the nurses at each hospital as well as specific areas to keep an eye out for. The next morning, we compiled all the questions before leaving feeling confident we would be able to get all the information necessary to complete the project. Over the next two days, we visited the neonatal, postnatal, and labor wards at Mulanje District Hospital and Zomba Central Hospital. Despite being welcomed into each hospital, I felt somewhat uncomfortable intruding in an intimate place where people go to seek help. None the less, we were grateful for the opportunity to observe the hospital’s daily activities as well as gain the staff’s perspective and protocol on the transport of hypothermic neonates between the labor and neonatal wards. Both visits allowed us to gain valuable insight into the realistic situation nurses experience and appeal to their specific requests and needs. From our visits, we discovered the main therapy for
Theater at Mulanje District Hospital
hypothermia is kangaroo mother care (skin to skin contact between neonate and mother) with the occasional use of a radiant warmer if it is working. During transport the nurses currently, wrap the premature baby in dry cloth and carry it between wards. Despite the relatively short distance, the neonates still experience drastic decreases in temperature, increasing the risk of mortality. One key aspect we otherwise would have overlooked without interviewing the nurses are the premature babies born via C-section which occurs in the theater (operating room) significantly farther away from the neonatal ward than the labor ward. With this knowledge, we would need our solution to maintain the neonate’s temperature for a greater duration that anticipated.
Being able to visit two hospitals allowed us to split up into pairs and cross reference our findings. Because there was a lot of information we needed to gather within a short amount of time, we realized our initial hospital visit to Mulanje District Hospital was not as successful as we had hoped. We left with our answered questions only leading to more questions. Luckily, our teammates returned to Mulanje the next day while we visited Zomba Central Hospital and obtained all the information we needed. Both hospital visits allowed us to confirm our findings and interpret the information ideate possible solutions. Although we have only completed the research stage of the engineering design process, we are eager for the possible solutions to our project.
Blantyre Market
After a full week of work and travel, the interns and I took the weekend to relax and explore some of the local areas. Unfortunately, it rained (more of a continuous mist) all day so we did not venture far out of the lodge except in search of food. However, on Sunday we went attempted to go grocery shopping at the local market in Blantyre. Every day on the way home, we drive by the market which only piqued my curiosity further considering my initial thought of a market is mainly produce. However, once we reached the market there were people selling everything imaginable at every turn. The market itself seemed endless with vendor’s stall forming makeshift hallways (kind of like a fort made of scrap materials). Despite a few odd stares, I would say the trip was a success, but I really need to learn some more Chichewa besides “muli bwanji” (how are you) and “zikomo” (thank you).
Well that’s all for now but let’s see what new adventures are bound to happen in coming week. Stay tuned!
After endless hours of travel, we finally made it to Malawi! It took us a total of 3 flights to 3 different continents in the span of 4 days to finally arrive in Blantyre, Malawi. Once we landed in Lilongwe after our third flight, we were greeted by the warm and friendly Mr. Richard who would be transporting us the 4 hours from Lilongwe to Blantyre, and the other 4 interns from Tanzania who would be working at the Malawi Polytechnic (Poly for short) with us. Despite being exhausted and jet-lagged, I appreciated seeing the more rural parts of the country. Along the road we would pass through the central markets of towns with people selling an assortment of produce and goods. Little did we know that the road we traveled on spanned the border between Mozambique and Malawi. It was astounding to think that all you had to do was cross the road and you were in an entirely different country.
Rice and Tanzanian interns outside the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Bubble CPAP Office.
After settling into the lodge in Blantyre, we visited Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Malawi Polytechnic University where we will be observing patient care and working on our projects. Unfortunately, we were not able to walk around much of the hospital, but in the next couple of day we will hopefully be able to see the NICU for observations and research for future projects. After, a few of the Malawian interns took us around the Poly campus which has a huge library right next to the main campus where I assume we will spend quite a bit of time doing background research for our projects. So far everyone we have met on our trip has been so friendly and helpful, especially the Rice 360 staff in Malawi and other Malawian interns. I am excited to work alongside students who are passionate and eager to begin working.
Hand-washing clothes outside.
Over the weekend, we explored some of the city on foot and went to the Museum of Malawi. The museum took us through the different ages of Malawian culture and history which was neat, especially all of the artifacts. We also had our first attempt at washing clothes by hand this weekend. Although it was time consuming and I may have lost a layer of skin on my fingers, finishing was relieving and gratifying until we have to repeat it again next week.
View from Kabula Lodge terrace.
Most mornings, we enjoyed the gorgeous view from the lodge and talked with the Joel and Cholo, two of the Tanzanian interns. Some of the stories of their home were hard to believe,especially the ones with elephants simply passing by homes and monkeys stealing cell phones. Our stories from back home were definitely less exciting than theirs. Despite the lively city nearby which always some sort of music playing that just makes you want to dance, its also nice to relax with a book and be surrounded by all the colorful trees and flowers. One characteristic I have noticed is that color seems to be a vibrant and prominent aspect in Malawi, from the nature that surrounds everything, to the painting on the buildings, and the typical attire of many natives.
Monday will begin our first official day of work at the Poly which I am a bit nervous about, but I am sure will be fun getting to know everyone. After our first week of work I am sure I will have much more to share so stay tuned for my next blog!
This past week the other Rice 360 interns and I have been diligently planning and preparing for our journey to Malawi. Majority of our time has been spent in the OEDK learning and building the the Rice 360 devices we will be implementing, assessing the material we will need to pack, and learning as many skills as possible before we depart. We are bringing an assortment of low resource medical devices to Malawi that Rice 360 student developed over the past semester and now it is our responsibility to take over their designs for valuable feedback.
Rice 360 Devices for Malawi:
Clean Machine – removes medical tools in a timely manner after sanitation to prevent deterioration
Phototherapy Mask – reusable eye mask to prevent retinal damage during blue light phototherapy of babies with neonatal jaundice
OxyMon – continuous oxygen monitor that displays quantitative values of concentration and alerts clinicians of poor machine function
Neonatal Temperature Monitor – easily monitor premature neonate’s temperature during kangaroo mother care
IV Drip Lock – prevent non-clinicians from tampering with IV dosage
Cervical Thermocoagulation Training Model – reusable training model that teaches clinicians how to perform thermocoagulation therapy on cervical cancer patients
Ostomy Bags – reusable and sterile bags for patients with ostomy ports
Ballard Score Training Model – training model that teaches clinicians how to accurately identify premature babies
IV Drip Lock
During our time at the OEDK all the Malawi-bound interns including those going to be at the Malawi University Polytechnic and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, divided the projects among ourselves. Alex, another intern, and I teamed up to work on Clean Machine, Phototherapy Masks, and IV Drip Lock. As we read through each team’s information, we realized just how innovative each of these devices were. One of my favorites is the IV Drip Lock. It has such a simple design, yet is complex enough that non-clinicians are not able to open it without assistance or additional instructions which prevents patients from adjusting their dosage with the hopes of recovering quicker. It brings on a whole new perception about how simple designs can have an impact on someone’s health.
Phototherapy Mask Clean Machine
Together, Alex and I have sewn new phototherapy masks, 3D printed additional IV Drip Locks, and prepared the components to assemble clean machine once we reach Malawi. Learning how to recreate each of these devices required skills I had to learn on the fly including 3D printing, laser cutting, soldering, how to CAD and use Adobe Illustrator. Obviously I am by no means an expert in any of these areas, but I am proud of the progress I have made so far.
Another job we were tasked with in Malawi, is setting up a new innovation and design space in the Malawi University Science and Technology (MUST). So far, Rice 360 has already purchased the materials we will need to set up the studio, but it will be our responsibility to organize it and create a system to track the use of materials. During my time at the OEDK I have become accustomed to the culture of respecting the tools, materials, and people in the space as well as the willingness to teach one another and the engineering design process. Throughout our time at MUST I hope to impart this culture on the students and develop the space as a whole.
Once, these two weeks of preparation are over, I will be going home for two weeks before leaving for Malawi on June 3rd! I will spend this time mainly with family, making tons of lists, packing, and trying not to freak out that I will be leaving soon! On June 3rd, our journey will begin in Houston, then on to London, Johannesburg, Lilongwe and finally Blantyre, Malawi. I can’t say I’m too excited to sit still for over 31 hours of travel, but I’m sure it will pass by in the blink of an eye.
