A three days visit to Malamulo Mission Hospital and another two days to Mulanje Mission Hospital have been not only extremely rewarding but also an insight to hypothermia, oxygen concentrator and other devices of interest. Besides being excited with visiting wards like Labour, Delivery, Postnatal, Nursery, children and Theatre both at Malamulo and Mulanje Mission Hospitals, sharing the challenges faced by nurses and patients in these wards, was another key aspect as a bioengineer. Managing life immediately after birth to the level that the baby manages itself, suffers great complications. We have learned from the nurses both at Malamulo and Mulanje Mission Hospitals that Temperature changes immediately after birth, premature birth, neonatal Low birth weight, apnea, hypothermia, lungs failure and babies’ failure to suckle are a few common challenges faced by babies. Failure to control or treat any of these complications will lead to neonatal death. We also learned that delaying to treat or lack of proper treating devices, failure to use the devices or any treatment interruption may lead to serious complications or even death. I really wondered how neonatal survives in technology free areas. The experiences gave me enthusiasm to do more and saves lives. My conscious was not right when there was a Escom low voltages at Malamulo hospital during our visit and an oxygen concentrator device administered on the baby had to be stopped to avoid power fluctuations until the power stabilized. It was a bad experience but as an engineer, I had to face these challenges and think of solutions with the right heart and mind. Indeed, It’s good to share life experiences for a better tomorrow.

Though I developed interest to start working with medical devices, I lacked exposure and hands on experiences in biomedical engineering devices. Poly-Rice biomedical internship programme has uplifted me to greater height. Hypothermia and Oxygen concentration device are the main project areas that we are concentrating. As a team, we are eager to identify and address problems related to hypothermia and an oxygen concentrator device.

Our first week to the project was spent in researching and understanding about hypothermia causes, symptoms, prevention and its line of treatment as well as getting familiarization with an oxygen concentrator device airflow, components functionality and general service maintenance as per device operations manual. We interacted and went out to buy some tools necessary for the project activities and prepared guide line document to necessitate our data collections in the targeted district hospitals. We then measured our preparations and competent by visiting Queens Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) and while there, I was privileged to visit Chatinkha ward for the first time in my life and I had a chance to interview a nurse who was treating a new born baby. The nurse was very cooperative and that gave me courage and more confidence. Finally, we visited PAM Office where we met Mike Nkosi, technician working with Oxygen concentrators and it was a wonderful moment meeting him. With Mike, we worked to troubleshoot a failing oxygen concentrator and indeed it was nice working with him. For the one hour we interacted, he gave me confident that all things are possible if and only if I’m optimistic with what I am doing and he has shown interest to instill hands on experience in me when I asked if I could join him in my free time to learn more about oxygen concentrators. Having reached this far, I’m enjoying being part of the biomedical engineering team working at Poly for Poly Rice internship programme and I’m even more eager to work with the current biomedical devices in Malawi as I find ways of improving their working efficiencies by identifying ideas which would bring in design solutions, automation and effectiveness.