Engineering Biomedical Technologies for the Developing World

Abstract

The global healthcare landscape is experiencing a shift with an increasing demand for decentralized testing. Diagnostic testing is moving from the benchtop to the bedside and there is a need for translational medical tools to help usher in the generation of personalized medicine. Point-of-care medical devices have become a powerful tool to help address this growing need and can help deliver high-quality diagnostic testing at lower costs and greater convenience in comparison to conventional laboratory techniques. Point-of-care devices have also emerged as a suitable platform for use in resource limited settings where access to state-of-the-art medical equipment is scarce. In this dissertation, I detail the design and development of three unique biomedical technologies: Nutriphone, H.E.R.M.E.S and cAST. These technologies were created and developed with the specific intention of advancing diagnostic testing at the point-of-care with extended application for use in resource-limited environments. While there are similar themes in the design philosophy of the three technologies, they address entirely different areas of interest; Nutriphone enables rapid assessment of Vitamin D deficiencies, H.E.R.M.E.S enables quick and efficient pre-diagnostic sample preparation for blood-based testing and cAST offers accelerated assessment of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial organisms. I will highlight the underlying technical principles and the key innovations that we were able to demonstrate along with initial clinical results that make them promising platforms worthy of further development.