home
> News
> Stanford Brings Affordable Medical Innovation to India through Collaborative Design
Stanford Brings Affordable Medical Innovation to India through Collaborative Design
June 29, 2011
Stanford Brings Affordable Medical Innovation to India through Collaborative Design
A bone drill, which typically cost about $300 each, are used to access the marrow and vascular system inside bones when a patient's veins have collapsed or are inaccessible. They're standard features in most American ambulances and emergency rooms.
Bone drills enables fluids to be delivered into bone marrow in less than 60 seconds-a lifesaver when a patient's veins have collapsed.
But in developing countries like India, where the need is huge, that $300 price is an insurmountable hurdle to widespread adoption.
The Stanford India Biodesign (SIB) team and in based at Stanford and in New Delhi at the Indian Institute of Technology and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
The teams collaborated over Skype adn shipped prototypes back and forth via FedEx. Eventually, they created a device that would sell for around $20, with no drop in efficacy.
There are still many hurdles before the device will be available commercially. For one thing, designers have yet to crack the code on making sure the drill is not reusable, a big issue in India where blood-borne diseases are often spread with reusable devices.
Read the article on FastCompany.
category : Topics
