2012 to (hopefully) represent innovation in top global health achievements

in Blog
January 4th, 2012

By Stephanie Nelson

Karl Hofmann in his Huffington Post article discusses what he sees are the top ten global health achievements of 2011.  While all of these are quiet remarkable, I can’t help but notice most of the achievements are the result of government policies or government spending.  As important governmental policy and spending are to the improvement of global health, my hope for 2012 is to see more engineering innovation on the list.  Many top universities within the U.S. have taken on global health as a challenge, and it would be really inspiring to see a product designed and developed in university labs eventually produced to have a global impact.  There is a lot of innovation occurring at these universities and they all have potential to invent a top global health achievement. LEED’s solar powered, robust, pulse oximeter is set to go into implemented clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa early 2012, and has a real potential in changing the way pneumonia is diagnosed in children and adults.  Other projects in progress at LEED include a point-of-care tuberculosis diagnostic, and a microfluidic chip for counter-fit drug detection. With other devices and research underway nationwide, 2012 will ideally be the year with innovative achievements producing a tangible impact on global health, and truly making a difference.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karl-hofmann/10-global-health-achievem_b_1174352.html?ref=impact&ir=Impact