Hi again!

It’s been a bit since my last post, but I can’t believe we are already half way through the internship! It’s gone by so quick! Let me tell you a few things that we did last week.

Like I already mentioned, Ranken and I are working on the deep vein thrombosis (DVT) compression therapy device project. DVT is a common issue that can result in complications which are life-threatening, and the idea of the project was to make a low-cost but also portable and easy-to-use compression therapy device. The project has taken a bit of a turn though, and it has now a more technical focus. After quite a bit of research, we found an existing open-source device which seems quite promising, so we are working on building it. We will of course be adjusting it to the requirements of the site where needed, and it will likely also need some more modifications along the way due to material options, further investigation, other design choices, etc. As we go, we want to make sure that we are tackling the problem appropriately, and to continue with the research on both the condition and the therapy.

More about the project below though! Let me tell you some other things first…

Later last week, Sanjay and I also got the chance to meet with one of the Rice360 student teams’ sponsors. To add some context, Queen Elisabeth Central Hospital (QECH) is the only place in Malawi where one can get an electroencephalogram (EEG). This hospital happens to be right next to MUBAS, the university where we go every day. This past year, a student team from Rice worked on making an intuitive EEG acquisition device. The idea of the project is to facilitate EEG acquisition in settings like Malawi such that this technology can reach a lot more people. We thus met with the sponsor in person to gather some feedback so that the project can be continued in the future.

After a long day of work, we were also able to attend a very nice event 🙂 Together with eight other students from the lodge, we went to one of the Sounds of Malawi Acoustic Sessions which take place in the Jacaranda Cultural Center and Maison de la France here in Blantyre. We were able to enjoy a concert by Angie Tigris, a famous Malawian singer. It was a lot of fun!

We continued with the workshops this past week as well. But going back to the project, we also got the chance to check out a commercial compression therapy device that they had at MUBAS to get a better idea of how these devices work. Below is a picture of one of the cuffs and the tubing from the device.

However, the primary focus of the project has been on figuring out the materials, which is more challenging than it seems. We have been talking with a few different people, looking for several options, and for example, yesterday, Ranken and I went around Blantyre (and even to Limbe!) visiting different fabric stores. We wanted to check out what fabrics were available locally to see if we could use any for our project. We went to five different shops! I am now regretting not having taken any pictures because they were very colorful…

Below is a very nice picture I took yesterday afternoon instead though, I hope you like it 🙂

 

Until next time!