Contact: Amy Smith mmadinot@mit.edu
Cholera.
Cholera kills roughly 6% of
those people afflicted with it. The
bacteria itself is not typically the cause of death, rather dhydration from
losing up to 20L of water per day when afflicted with the disease. An appropriate i.v. treatment system and
accompanying water filter could make cholera treatment more practical and cheaper
and in remote areas.
Develop:
A device for separating
serum from red blood cells
A device for shaking the
card during the test
A device for performing
dilution tests.
Supplementary contact: Susan Butler, TUFTS Medical, Cholera group.
Syphillis.
12 million new cases of
syphilis occur each year. South and
south east asia are most afflicted, followed by sub-saharan Africa. The spead of Syphillis accelerates the
transmission of the AIDS virus, and within itself can lead to mental
deterioration and even death. Many
cases are asymptomatic and those afflicted do not seek help. Treatment is available, and effective,
though not as widespread as desireable due to inadequate diagnosis.
One method of diagnosis is a serological test that utilizes card agglutination. A small sample of the patients serum is
applied to an area of the card and a reagent added. The card needs to be shaken for a prescribed time whereupon a
visible reaction is present in the case of infection. Traditionally the rotary shakers required are expensive and run
on electricity meaning that the tests are bound to centralized hospitals.
Develop a human powered
rotary shaker and timer for a portable syphilis diagnostic kit.
Supplementary contact: Riders for Africa
Tuberculosis.
Among infectious diseases,
tuberculosis is the leading killer of adults in the world today. One third of the world’s entire population
is now infected with the TB bacillus. In
the next decade it is estimated that 300 million more people will become infected,
that 90 million people will develop the disease, and 30 million people will die
from it.
Screening for tuberculosis
is time consuming and not widely available.
The test is done by taking a sputum sample, staining it, and looking at
it under a microscope. There are two
ways in which this can be done. In the
first method, a sample of sputum is placed on a slide and stained. Because the sample is thick and the surface
uneven, it is necessary to re-focus the microscope often in order to properly view
the sample. This takes at least 15
minutes and is often inaccurate. By
another diagnosis method, sputum is spun down in a centrifuge and the fraction
which contains the most bacteria is separated out. This is placed on a warmed slide, causing it to spread out in a
thin layer which is then stained and viewed through a microscope. This is the preferred method, as a more
accurate screening can be done since the bacteria are more concentrated and the
sample is easier to view.
Develop a lower cost and more
accurate tuberculosis diagnostic.