Every year the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) hosts a challenge for teams of undergraduate students to create cost-effective solutions to clinical needs that have yet to be met.

The winning design of the 2015 DEBUT challenge was the Viral Diagnostic Technology designed by a group of students from Lehigh University. This device was designed to help meet the World Health Organization’s recommendation that everyone diagnosed with HIV take a yearly viral load test to monitor the effectiveness of treatment. The viral load test is important in diagnosing and monitoring HIV.

The design addresses the issue of the lack of HIV treatment monitoring devices in impoverished areas where the majority of HIV-infected patients live, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa. The technology used allows for a simpler, faster and more affordable option of the viral load test with results coming out within the hour.

This design comes at a critical time as 35 million people in the world are living with HIV. Seventy-one percent of those are living in sub-Saharan Africa.

One of the runner-ups of the challenge was the FreePulse. The FreePulse was designed by a group of undergraduate students from the University of Texas at Austin. The patient monitor was decided upon when the team realized the unbalanced ratio of patient monitors to patient beds.

Thus, FreePulse was created. It is a low-cost patient monitor designed with the developing world in mind. It is durable, simple, and more affordable than conventional patient monitors. The average patient monitor costs between $1,000-$10,000. FreePulse has an estimated manufacturing price of $72, making it much more affordable for small hospitals in impoverished countries.

The NIBIB’s DEBUT Challenge is just one example of how biomedical technology has advanced society’s ability to improve global health and make it affordable. Global health is one step closer to reality through the advanced technology of biomedical engineering.

– Iona Brannon

Sources: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, NIH 1, NIH 2

Photo: Wikipedia