The advances in technology each day are absolutely incredible. We have come to the point where, if we think outside of the box, we can help developing countries take the first step in creating a healthier population.
What am I talking about?
Paper “chip” technology:
George Whitesides, a chemistry professor at Harvard University, has successfully merged an entire medical laboratory’s worth of equipment into a paper chip no bigger than the size of a fingerprint.
According to a CNN story, “Phones, paper ‘chips’ may fight disease,” Whitesides finished developing the prototype for the paper “chip” technology this year. The paper chip can be used in developing countries to test for diseases and their severity in patients. The chip will test for diseases such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, hepatitis and gastroenteritis.
This contraption costs about a penny to manufacture and is expected to be available in a year.
It’s simple — patients place a drop of blood on one side of the paper. The other side of the paper will then turn into a colorful pattern shaped like a tree. Depending on the colors, the chip can tell medical professionals whether people are infected with a specific disease and how severe their disease is.
If patients can’t get to their doctors to translate the information, they can take pictures of the color pattern and send it to their physicians for review. Whitesides said he is also working with cell phone makers to develop an app that would give patients their results immediately instead of waiting on their doctor.
DIY adjustable eyeglasses:
Josh Silver, a physics professor at Oxford University, invented a special set of eyeglasses that patients can manipulate to fit their personal prescription, according to The Guardian’s “Inventor’s 2020 vision: to help 1 billion of the world’s poorest see better.” People would no longer need to use expensive equipment from an optician’s office to determine their prescription.
Silver found that the fatter the lens, the more powerful it becomes. Inside the plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, which are connected to a small syringe attached to the arms of the glasses.
The wearer puts the glasses on and simply increases or reduces the amount of fluid in the sacs, which in turn changes the prescription being used. The syringe is then removed and the person can go about their daily work. The glasses cost about $1 each.
Portable water filter:
LifeStraw, created by the Danish company Vestergaard Frandsen, is a thick plastic straw that acts as a portable water filter. This device allows people from developing countries to safely drink from polluted bodies of water and have clean water.
The filter takes out more than 99 percent of life-threatening waterborne bacteria and viruses, along with other particles. Each filter costs about $3.50 and lasts about a year — filtering about 2 liters per day. The filter is also said to be easy to clean, as well as the purifier cartridge.
According to Vestergaard Frandsen’s Web site, the filter was created in the hopes of eradicating the Guinea worm disease, which is a painful infection caused by waterborne parasites. The parasites create a blister, which people try to clean in polluted water. Cleaning the wound with dirty water stimulates the worms to emerge and release their larvae.
What do these medical advances mean to the developing world?
Trained specialists are in such high demand in impoverished countries that they are hard to come by when people need them the most. People usually have to travel great distances, by public transportation or foot, to access any sort of medical clinic.
Many diagnostic tests are also too expensive for people in developing countries to afford. This crisis makes countless numbers of people go undiagnosed and without treatment until the disease is at its peak.
These innovations can provide people in the poorest areas of the world with the treatment they so desperately need. It can give them the ability to have clean drinking water without the fear of getting sick. (Keep in mind that more than 1 billion people in the world don’t have access to safe drinking water, according to the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.)
It can give them the ability to see late at night while they work their trade to make $2 to $4 a day. It can let their doctor know, no matter how far the medical clinic is, the condition of their health and what medical supplies or medicine they need.
But it can also assist countries that provide aid to Third World countries. It can assure that people have the correct prescription needed, instead of receiving secondhand eyeglasses, which aren’t guaranteed to give the wearer clear vision. It can help other countries donate the medicine that is in the highest demand. It can even help natural disaster survivors receive clean drinking water, if nothing else.
However, countries with the money and capability to give these devices to Third World countries aren’t going to give these medical technological devices away for free forever. No matter how small the manufacturing cost is. After a while, one penny and one dollar will quickly add up, especially when you take into account the billions of people who need it. This isn’t including all of the people within our own neighborhoods that need access to these essential things as well.
Governments of Third World countries need to step it up and create awareness. They need to let other countries know in-depth information of their medical capabilities and propose solutions to get their hands on these devices. If they let the whole world know their situation, I’m sure wealthy governments can figure some sort of exchange. Or maybe wealthy countries will realize that health is more important than profit and the cost of these devices will become scalable.
