Problem Statement:

Biodegradable waste poses an environmental challenge due to its potential for pollution. Improper disposal methods have contributed to the spread of several diseases like malaria, and cholera claiming millions of lives every year.

On the other hand, non-biodegradable waste especially plastics have persisted in the environment  thereby endangering  human health through the contamination of food and water sources. Urgent need for sustainable solutions are needed to curb this life-claiming menace while mitigating environmental impact.

Problem Statment: Pleural effusions, i.e., buildup of fluid between the layers of tissue that line the lungs
and chest cavity, a frequent complication after thoracic and cardiac surgery (often coronary artery bypass grafting), cause recovery delays, often requiring drainage. An advanced equipment like Medela Thopaz is costly, hence inappropriate for developing region like Bangladesh. So, cheaper Chest drain bag is used but it has some issues. 

Problem statement: Approximately half of the global population, with 100–400 million yearly infections, faces dengue risk. 2023, around 0.3 million were affected, with 30% being children. Aedes mosquitoes transmit the virus. Effective techniques for vector mosquito surveillance and prevention in specific areas are lacking, highlighting a critical need for intervention strategies.

Problem Statement: HCM seeks to alleviate inefficiencies in Sub-Saharan African hospitals caused by paper-based systems, aiming to expedite operations and provide instant access to accurate patient data, ultimately improving healthcare delivery.

Problem Statement: Of the 40 million amputees in developing countries, only 5 to 15 percent receive prosthetics. Our goal is to create an affordable and easily deployable ankle prosthetic that allows for dynamic motion of the ankle joint for amputees in Tanzania in order to promote mobility and mitigate gait related injuries.

Problem Statement: Our team addresses the challenge of Postpartum-hemorrhage(PPH) which causes 70,000 deaths each year according to WHO, with 14 million women affected. PPH is characterized by losing over 500 mL of blood within 24 hours after childbirth and is the primary cause of maternal mortality, particularly in resource-limited settings.

Problem Statement: According to statistics, over 79% of the premature born every year are unable to regulate their body temperature which leads to 28.8% deaths. However, the radiant warmers routinely used are difficult to procure and maintain. Deploying a baby warmer that is cost effective and reliable will reduce infant mortality rate.

Problem Statement: Inadequate needle safety practices and medication management in Ugandan operating theatres, evidenced by frequent needle-stick injuries due to needle recapping and disorganized anesthesia workbenches, pose serious risks to healthcare workers and patients. There is an urgent need for low-cost, scalable solutions to ensure safer surgical procedures and medication handling.

Problem Statement: Ambulance personnel in Uganda need a low-cost, accessible solution to prevent hypothermia for preterm infants during transport from rural villages to national referral hospitals.

Problem Statement: Delivery nurses in low-to-middle income countries need an assisted delivery device that is a low-cost, sustainable, and mechanical solution to prevent neonatal sepsis by decreasing prolonged labor and the risk of infection transmission at community-level health facilities. 

Problem Statement: Skin grafting is vital for treating fatal burns in sub-Saharan Africa, but expensive skin expansion devices are scarce. Surgeons often resort to manual, time-consuming meshing with a scalpel, risking graft failure in the process. Our low-cost skin incision template guides surgeons in quickly and accurately performing skin meshing.

Problem Statement: Neonatal care units in low resource settings, have an unbalanced nurse to patient ratio, there is no continuous temperature monitoring or data storage. This lack of monitoring raises the danger of hypothermia. More than 21.7% of neonates suffer from hypothermia and 4.6% have moderate to severe hypothermia (WHO, 2023). 

Problem Statement: In sub-Saharan Africa’s low-resource hospitals, intermittent electricity supply restricts medical interventions, particularly oxygen therapy. Generators operate solely during surgeries, leaving hospitals powerless most nights, and endangering respiratory distress patients. The high costs of battery-powered oxygenators exacerbate the issue, highlighting the urgent need for accessible solutions to ensure consistent treatment access.

Problem Statement: Scarring from burns is common, especially in children, and can result in hypertrophic scarring. Scar massaging, a series of motions performed on children by caregivers, is prescribed in low- and middle-income countries like Costa Rica. Unfortunately, this process presents a time commitment and burden on caregivers, reducing treatment efficacy.

Problem Statement: Breast cancer survival in LMICs can improve through diagnosis via ultrasound-guided core needle biopsies. The training standard has limitations for low-resource setting implementation, resulting in a deficit of trained clinicians. There is a need for a durable, reusable core needle biopsy training model that provides realistic practice and ultrasound visualization. 

Problem Statement: Current pericardiocentesis training simulators are either cost-prohibitive or ethically concerning due to animal-derived materials, limiting doctors' access to essential procedural practice. Existing low-cost options lack realism, hindering effective training. We are developing a low-cost simulator with realistic features to enhance training accessibility and efficacy, addressing current limitations in surgical education.

Problem Statement: Over 1.5 million people die from vaccine-preventable illnesses each year due to limited access to vaccines and lack of cost-effective storage systems for them. Areas with warm climates and limited electricity access are particularly impacted as vaccines need to be kept at a certain temperature range to remain viable. 

Problem Statement: Neonatal asphyxia is the leading contributor to newborn mortality in developing countries. Few infants survive, and those who do often experience a number of neurological deficits. Treatment is currently too expensive for underserved communities to utilize, accounting for over a million neonatal deaths annually due to this affliction.

Problem Statement: One in 500 neonates face the risk of long-term neurological damage due to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), secondary to asphyxia at birth. Current screening methods are time and labor-intensive, requiring specialist expertise and technology inaccessible in low-income settings. ADONA is a low-cost, automated solution for early detection of HIE in newborns.

Problem Statement: Current cardiac monitoring devices for inpatient settings limit patient mobility due to wires and scale. For children and infants, this restricts the patient’s ability to play, use the bathroom independently, and make physical contact with caregivers. Ultimately these factors cause patient discomfort and the frequent removal of cardiac monitoring systems.  

Problem Statement: Approximately one in 700 infants are born with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) annually around the world. CLP occurs when orofacial tissue improperly fuses together during gestation, resulting in openings/clefts. Infants with CLP are unable to create suction, resulting in improper feeding and poor weight gain.

Problem Statement: The WHO predicts that more than 1 billion people with visual impairments don’t receive the care they need. Eye care is inaccessible to many, in part, due to the high cost of devices needed to check your vision, like a phoropter, which can cost upwards of $3000.

Problem Statement: Stroke is the third leading cause of disability worldwide with over 70% of survivors experiencing upper extremity impairments. In the developing world, with fewer than 10 skilled rehabilitation practitioners per million people, family members become the primary caregivers for stroke survivors without training or guidance. 

Problem Statement: Illicit alcohol poses significant health risks due to being often contaminated with methanol, which is toxic and deadly at very small concentrations. Currently, there are no affordable, practical methanol detection kits for consumers. There is a need for an inexpensive, rapid solution to enable consumers to detect methanol in alcohol.