Overview

The design, development, and implementation of health-related technologies for resource-limited settings require a detailed consideration of the end user and target community that goes beyond the traditional engineering design needs assessment. In a broader sense, economic, social, and cultural constraints must be considered for successful implementation of technologies. Such constraints are often difficult or impossible to ascertain a priori, necessitating significant fieldwork; there is currently no database where prospective designers for global health can review how others have fared with similar and diverse challenges.

We have developed a compendium of medical devices through research of best practices in medical devices designed for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the World Health Organization top ten causes of death in low-income countries in addition to Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 (maternal and infant/child mortality).

The online, free, and wiki-based compendium of global health medical device allows users to search for any medical device that is designed for or used in a developing setting based on a given health challenge (ex. HIV, Malaria, etc.), or device classification (ex. diagnostic, prevention, treatment), or device stage (concept, clinical trial, market), or region. The wiki-based nature of the compendium allows users to add new device cases to the existing database.

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What to Know About The Global Health Design Initiative

Program History

Program History

GHDI has been working with stakeholders for more than eight years to identify and address global health design challenges. Learn more about our history and core values.

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Project Outcomes

Project Outcomes

Since inception, we have worked on projects in maternal health, family planning, minimally invasive surgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and more. Explore our past and current projects.

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Get Involved

Get Involved

There are many ways to get involved in global health work with GHDI. From taking on a need statement, to participating in an opportunity, or becoming a partner.

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