Here are statistics from the World Health Organization for our target countries. I have included the US too for comparison.
Phil
Students designing a low cost, sustainable surgical lamp for developing countries
Monday, February 23, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
2/17 Lamp Update
Hey everyone,
Here's lamp business for the week. Sorry about the length, but make sure to read the "Tasks to be Done" section, since I included something for everyone to do over the next week and a half.
1. Tuesday's Meeting
2. Tasks to be Done
3. Spring Break
4. Meetings After Spring Break
1) Tuesday's Meeting:
Mike Harrison made his first lamp meeting this week. After introductions Elliot showed us the joint he had looked at for the lamp head joint. It was based off of a joint that he saw at work (the transportation research center where they test wheelchairs). It has the same degrees of freedom as a ball and socket joint but Elliot believes it is easier to build. I have his sketches, but I haven't had a chance to scan them in yet. Look for them to be up on the blog sometime tomorrow. We spent some time discussing the merits of this joint versus a ball and socket joint. We didn't come to any solid conclusions but decided that a staying-in-place system based on friction would be find for the lamp head joint since failure would not be nearly as catastrophic as if the joint on the horizontal bar failed.
Next we looked at the LED flashlights that Carl bought. Each one has 5 white LEDs and one red LED with a peak output of 100 lumens. According to my calculations we need ~850 lumens. Conveniently, without modifying the flashlights they have a 6" spot at 36" just like we want. We went in the dark and checked to see how much light is outside of the 6" bright spot and found that alot of it goes out at wider angles. Mike suggested that we have white cones surrounding each LED array to tighten the light distribution.
Phil brought some data on the Philippines and Uganda that he got from WHO. It shows that the current situation in the two locations is quite different in terms of doctors per capita and treated water.
2) Tasks to be Done:
We're still planning to get a prototype ready for WMR's trip to Liberia during the third week of March. This means that after spring break we don't have much time to mess around. All we need is to get a rough prototype ready so the doctors can see the idea we're shooting for, even if we don't have all the functionality we want. The main things we need are:
- the lamp head joint: Elliot has already done some good work here but we need to pick a joint and buy/make it.
- the horizontal beam join: I don't believe we have much here yet. For now we can take emphasis away from the pedal and focus on just getting the structure. We can add the pedal if we are ahead of schedule.
- the LED holder: we need something to hold the LED heads in the proper orientation
- electrical integration: at the very least all the LEDs need to turn on and off from a single switch. It would be nice to have all of them hooked up to a single large battery with the option of wall power.
Everyone: Get the basic training at Wilson. We're going to be starting to build the lamp and you need to be able to go in there. Also, remember to post your progress up on the blog as you go. It will help everyone keep up to date between meetings and allow people to give you a fresh perspective on your ideas.
Elliot: You've already been working on the lamp head joint so keep at it. By the Thursday after spring break I want to have a joint in hand. Use your best judgment on what type of joint to use and let me know before you spend money on anything (just so we stay on budget).
Mike Harrison: Work with Elliot on the lamp head joint.
Phil: On Tuesday you said that you will be looking into the LED holder. Figure out the best material and structure, but don't buy anything until we have all of our LEDs, so that we can test out how everything is going to be arranged. Also, put your data on Uganda and the Philippines up on the blog.
Mike Weist: Work with Phil on the LED holder.
Chris: Work on the joint that connects the two poles. It needs up and down movement and the ability to swivel.
Seth: I can't remember when you said you were getting back next week, but take a look at the two LED flashlights we have and start figuring out how to integrate them in the electrical system.
Carl: On Tuesday you said you would get in touch with Home Depot to order more LEDs. Also, check with Seth to see if he needs a hand on the electronics.
Mustafa: Familiarize yourself with the business documents on the Ctools site. Most of them are under Resources->Social Venture Development. Most of those documents are still pretty accurate, only we're not using car parts anymore, we're using LED flashlights. In Resources->Lamp Project->Possible countries there is a good paper about the health system in the Phillipines and some stats on various countries. Also keep an eye out for the data Phil will post on the blog.
3) Spring Break:
I know alot of us will be gone next week for spring break. Who will be around?
4) After Spring Break:
After spring break we have two weeks to get our lamp built. This means we're going to have to meet more than just Tuesdays. We'll definitely have meetings with all of us on the two Tuesdays after break but people working together on various aspects of the lamp will probably have to meet several other times so we can finish in time. Thursday is a good candidate for a general build session since I know most people said they were free then at the beginning of the semester.
Best of luck on the various aspects of the lamp you're working on. Let me know if you have any questions or run into any problems. Have a great break!
Steve
Here's lamp business for the week. Sorry about the length, but make sure to read the "Tasks to be Done" section, since I included something for everyone to do over the next week and a half.
1. Tuesday's Meeting
2. Tasks to be Done
3. Spring Break
4. Meetings After Spring Break
1) Tuesday's Meeting:
Mike Harrison made his first lamp meeting this week. After introductions Elliot showed us the joint he had looked at for the lamp head joint. It was based off of a joint that he saw at work (the transportation research center where they test wheelchairs). It has the same degrees of freedom as a ball and socket joint but Elliot believes it is easier to build. I have his sketches, but I haven't had a chance to scan them in yet. Look for them to be up on the blog sometime tomorrow. We spent some time discussing the merits of this joint versus a ball and socket joint. We didn't come to any solid conclusions but decided that a staying-in-place system based on friction would be find for the lamp head joint since failure would not be nearly as catastrophic as if the joint on the horizontal bar failed.
Next we looked at the LED flashlights that Carl bought. Each one has 5 white LEDs and one red LED with a peak output of 100 lumens. According to my calculations we need ~850 lumens. Conveniently, without modifying the flashlights they have a 6" spot at 36" just like we want. We went in the dark and checked to see how much light is outside of the 6" bright spot and found that alot of it goes out at wider angles. Mike suggested that we have white cones surrounding each LED array to tighten the light distribution.
Phil brought some data on the Philippines and Uganda that he got from WHO. It shows that the current situation in the two locations is quite different in terms of doctors per capita and treated water.
2) Tasks to be Done:
We're still planning to get a prototype ready for WMR's trip to Liberia during the third week of March. This means that after spring break we don't have much time to mess around. All we need is to get a rough prototype ready so the doctors can see the idea we're shooting for, even if we don't have all the functionality we want. The main things we need are:
- the lamp head joint: Elliot has already done some good work here but we need to pick a joint and buy/make it.
- the horizontal beam join: I don't believe we have much here yet. For now we can take emphasis away from the pedal and focus on just getting the structure. We can add the pedal if we are ahead of schedule.
- the LED holder: we need something to hold the LED heads in the proper orientation
- electrical integration: at the very least all the LEDs need to turn on and off from a single switch. It would be nice to have all of them hooked up to a single large battery with the option of wall power.
Everyone: Get the basic training at Wilson. We're going to be starting to build the lamp and you need to be able to go in there. Also, remember to post your progress up on the blog as you go. It will help everyone keep up to date between meetings and allow people to give you a fresh perspective on your ideas.
Elliot: You've already been working on the lamp head joint so keep at it. By the Thursday after spring break I want to have a joint in hand. Use your best judgment on what type of joint to use and let me know before you spend money on anything (just so we stay on budget).
Mike Harrison: Work with Elliot on the lamp head joint.
Phil: On Tuesday you said that you will be looking into the LED holder. Figure out the best material and structure, but don't buy anything until we have all of our LEDs, so that we can test out how everything is going to be arranged. Also, put your data on Uganda and the Philippines up on the blog.
Mike Weist: Work with Phil on the LED holder.
Chris: Work on the joint that connects the two poles. It needs up and down movement and the ability to swivel.
Seth: I can't remember when you said you were getting back next week, but take a look at the two LED flashlights we have and start figuring out how to integrate them in the electrical system.
Carl: On Tuesday you said you would get in touch with Home Depot to order more LEDs. Also, check with Seth to see if he needs a hand on the electronics.
Mustafa: Familiarize yourself with the business documents on the Ctools site. Most of them are under Resources->Social Venture Development. Most of those documents are still pretty accurate, only we're not using car parts anymore, we're using LED flashlights. In Resources->Lamp Project->Possible countries there is a good paper about the health system in the Phillipines and some stats on various countries. Also keep an eye out for the data Phil will post on the blog.
3) Spring Break:
I know alot of us will be gone next week for spring break. Who will be around?
4) After Spring Break:
After spring break we have two weeks to get our lamp built. This means we're going to have to meet more than just Tuesdays. We'll definitely have meetings with all of us on the two Tuesdays after break but people working together on various aspects of the lamp will probably have to meet several other times so we can finish in time. Thursday is a good candidate for a general build session since I know most people said they were free then at the beginning of the semester.
Best of luck on the various aspects of the lamp you're working on. Let me know if you have any questions or run into any problems. Have a great break!
Steve
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Pedal sketch
Hey guys,
Here is the sketch I brought to last week's meeting of the pedal mechanism.
Phil
Here is the sketch I brought to last week's meeting of the pedal mechanism.
Phil
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
2/10 Meeting Summary
Hey guys,
Here's a summary of lamp business this week:
1. Meeting Summary
2. Assigned Tasks
3. Next Meeting
1. Meeting Summary:
First we reviewed M-HEAL's IP policy. Pretty much any ideas anyone has regarding the lamp becomes property of M-HEAL. That said, the point is to freely distribute the plans so it shouldn't be much of an issue. Next, Phil told us about his idea for a mechanical latch and pedal system to lock and unlock the rotation of the main joint. We then discussed other ideas involving a pneumatic system similar to those on office chairs. General consensus was that it was possible but no one had a specific implementation idea. Next we discussed the reflector. Seth pointed out that the distributed nature of the LED system might not need a reflector or defuser. We just need to carefully place the LEDs. I haven't ordered the LED flashlights online because I was concerned about their brightness and shipping cost almost as much as the lights themselves. We discussed buying LED flashlights locally. We discussed batteries, but Seth told us we need to wait until we have more information about the LEDs before we can talk about batteries. Then we discussed the general timeline of the project. Next week we want to have LED flashlights to play with and have a good idea of the physical structure. Over spring break Seth (along with anyone else who is interested) will get to work on integrating the flashlights together electrically. Before the end of spring break we should have all the parts we need. After spring break we can begin building the physical structure. We will work on integration and testing until the third week of March when we will send our prototype to Liberia with WMR. If Abigail firms up on her next trip to Uganda and it fits well into our timeline, we will consider sending the lamp with her. Let me know if I forgot anything.
2. Assigned Tasks:
As you make progress please post on our project blog. The url is http://mheal-lamp.blogspot.com/. You can also get to it through the main M-HEAL website by going to the activities page and scrolling down to the lamp section.
Here's a summary of lamp business this week:
1. Meeting Summary
2. Assigned Tasks
3. Next Meeting
1. Meeting Summary:
First we reviewed M-HEAL's IP policy. Pretty much any ideas anyone has regarding the lamp becomes property of M-HEAL. That said, the point is to freely distribute the plans so it shouldn't be much of an issue. Next, Phil told us about his idea for a mechanical latch and pedal system to lock and unlock the rotation of the main joint. We then discussed other ideas involving a pneumatic system similar to those on office chairs. General consensus was that it was possible but no one had a specific implementation idea. Next we discussed the reflector. Seth pointed out that the distributed nature of the LED system might not need a reflector or defuser. We just need to carefully place the LEDs. I haven't ordered the LED flashlights online because I was concerned about their brightness and shipping cost almost as much as the lights themselves. We discussed buying LED flashlights locally. We discussed batteries, but Seth told us we need to wait until we have more information about the LEDs before we can talk about batteries. Then we discussed the general timeline of the project. Next week we want to have LED flashlights to play with and have a good idea of the physical structure. Over spring break Seth (along with anyone else who is interested) will get to work on integrating the flashlights together electrically. Before the end of spring break we should have all the parts we need. After spring break we can begin building the physical structure. We will work on integration and testing until the third week of March when we will send our prototype to Liberia with WMR. If Abigail firms up on her next trip to Uganda and it fits well into our timeline, we will consider sending the lamp with her. Let me know if I forgot anything.
2. Assigned Tasks:
As you make progress please post on our project blog. The url is http://mheal-lamp.blogspot.com/. You can also get to it through the main M-HEAL website by going to the activities page and scrolling down to the lamp section.
Please sign up for the one hour Wilson training session. The next sessions are Thursday at 2 and 3 and Monday at 10 and 11. You can sign up here: http://www.engin.umich.edu/teamprojects/About/training.html.
Carl: Look into LED flashlights locally.
Elliot: Work on firming up the parts needed for the joints and how we can build them.
Mike: Work on methods to lock and unlock the joints using a foot pedal.
Phil: Look into the market for the surgical lamp. Find data on target countries and rough estimates of the size of our target population and the number of clinics/hospitals that translates to. There is already some related information on the Ctools site.
Chris: Find other surgical lamps that our somewhat similar to ours. Try to define the niche where we fit best.
Elliot and Mike you two might need to work together since you are both working on things related to the joints. As always, let me know if you run into any problems.
If you couldn't attend today's meeting but still want something to work on, shoot me an email.
3. Next Meeting:
Next meeting everyone will talk about what they've found this week. If we have LED flashlights with us we'll play around with them trying to figure out how we'll attach them and test out different arraignments. I'll give the three minute San Fransico VC pitch to get feedback from the team before Pratik and I fly out there.
--Steve
Carl: Look into LED flashlights locally.
Elliot: Work on firming up the parts needed for the joints and how we can build them.
Mike: Work on methods to lock and unlock the joints using a foot pedal.
Phil: Look into the market for the surgical lamp. Find data on target countries and rough estimates of the size of our target population and the number of clinics/hospitals that translates to. There is already some related information on the Ctools site.
Chris: Find other surgical lamps that our somewhat similar to ours. Try to define the niche where we fit best.
Elliot and Mike you two might need to work together since you are both working on things related to the joints. As always, let me know if you run into any problems.
If you couldn't attend today's meeting but still want something to work on, shoot me an email.
3. Next Meeting:
Next meeting everyone will talk about what they've found this week. If we have LED flashlights with us we'll play around with them trying to figure out how we'll attach them and test out different arraignments. I'll give the three minute San Fransico VC pitch to get feedback from the team before Pratik and I fly out there.
--Steve
Sunday, February 8, 2009
LED Torch
The follow links provide the different (relevant) LED Torches that I found.
32 LED Torch; Stephen is planning on buying 5 of these torches for the electrical group to "play with"; $31.50 + S&H for 5 Torches:
http://www.lightinthebox.com/LED-Torch--E4U-091---Start-From-5-units-_p3121.html
100 LED Torch; $18.79 + S&H for 1 Torch:
http://www.1topstore.com/product_info.php?products_id=1718
-- Carl
32 LED Torch; Stephen is planning on buying 5 of these torches for the electrical group to "play with"; $31.50 + S&H for 5 Torches:
http://www.lightinthebox.com/LED-Torch--E4U-091---Start-From-5-units-_p3121.html
100 LED Torch; $18.79 + S&H for 1 Torch:
http://www.1topstore.com/product_info.php?products_id=1718
-- Carl
Thursday, February 5, 2009
2/3 Lamp Meeting Summary
Here's a summary of lamp business for this week.
1. Meeting Summary
2. Tasks
3. Updated survey
4. Project blog
5. Next week
1. Meeting Summary:
Carl brought in printouts about four different types of LED torches, although he was unable to find the exact type that are found in Uganda. We decided to purchase 5 of the 32 LED torches. The idea is to try to rewire the torches to run off of our large battery/the grid instead of the AAs that are designed for it. This simplifies the design and if we can make a universal adapter, it makes the lighting element easy to replace (if somehow the LEDs failed, however unlikely). We also discussed the reflector assembly. To avoid having a shadow in the middle of our beam we looked at placing the LEDs off to this side and then having an angled reflector that directs the light down. In order to have a uniform spot getting the shape of the reflector might be tricky. Attached is a very rough sketch in paint for how I picture it in 2D.
Carl and I looked at Meg's edits of the lamp survey and added a few more questions. Phil talked to an OR nurse found out that the surgeon is the one who adjusts the position of the lamp and does so frequently. He needs to be able to move it even when he has instruments in his hands. Phil suggested that we have a pedal that unlocks the hinges so the surgeon can use his foot. One possible problem I've thought of since yesterday's meeting is that this design forces the surgeon to be standing next to the lamp stand. If we used a system similar to the cables for bicycle breaks we could have a few pedals set up under the table.
2: Tasks:
Due to exams and some other scheduling difficulties many of you couldn't make it to yesterday's meeting. Therefore instead of just listing who is doing what for the week we'll do task assignment via email. Email me (cc'ing the mheal-lamp) if you are interested in one of these tasks. As always if you have any questions or are having a hard time finding anything useful don't hesitate to shoot me an email.
Pedal Design: Phil
Reflector Design: If you miss high school trig this might be the job for you. Based on the specs for a minor surgical lamp (6-8" spot from 36") we need to figure out a good design for a reflector. Multiple people can work on this either independently or together so that we have multiple minds hacking away at this. This is the primary non-circuit part of the design that remains.
Emerging Markets Club: The b-school has a club called the Emerging Market club that looks into starting businesses in developing countries. Their advisor is Ted London, who gave the talk at last week's general M-HEAL meeting. We need someone to be a liaison between the two groups to see if there is any way we can help each other. If they are interested we might want to send a person or two to one of their meetings to talk about the lamp and see their general approach. I can give you an email introduction if you want so that it's not just an email out of the blue for them.
Market Research: We need to find out how large of a market there is for the lamp in terms of people and in terms of hospitals and clinics. Alex posted some relevant information on the Ctools site. We're targeting clinics and hospitals in developing countries that have access to unreliable electricity and those where the primary light source is currently ambient lighting or flashlights. This might be difficult but if you're interested just send me an email and I can work with the other officers to assemble a list of places to check for info.
Competitors: At the end of the month we're bringing our lamp design to a venture capital conference. For that conference we need to have good information on the status quo. I believe there are a few links of similar designs on the Ctools site but we need to make sure we have a comprehensive list.
Survey: See next item.
3. Lamp Survey:
As mentioned previously, M-HEAL is sending out a survey with the various student organizations that go on mission trips to developing countries. The survey team has asked us to look over and update the survey. The current version is attached. If you have any suggestions let me know, I'll be sending our edits to the survey team in a couple days.
4. Project Blog:
All of you should have gotten my email from last night that our project blog is up and running. Please post all the information you've found on that site. I want to make sure that we can get all the important information from just looking at the blog so that someone doesn't have to read through 10 links just to find the power consumption of a typical LED. Links should be well labeled and with a short summary of the key information found in it (following with the example from before a link containing a table of the specs for LEDs should be labeled as such and have basic facts like typical power consumption mentioned in the summary).
5. Next Week:
At our next meeting people will talk about the information and designs they worked on this week, we'll go over the general business plan for the lamp both in the short and long terms, we'll go over the M-HEAL IP policy, and we'll figure out tasks for the following week. There is a general M-HEAL meeting next week at 6pm in 1303 EECS and we will be meeting directly after that at approximately 7:00.
1. Meeting Summary
2. Tasks
3. Updated survey
4. Project blog
5. Next week
1. Meeting Summary:
Carl brought in printouts about four different types of LED torches, although he was unable to find the exact type that are found in Uganda. We decided to purchase 5 of the 32 LED torches. The idea is to try to rewire the torches to run off of our large battery/the grid instead of the AAs that are designed for it. This simplifies the design and if we can make a universal adapter, it makes the lighting element easy to replace (if somehow the LEDs failed, however unlikely). We also discussed the reflector assembly. To avoid having a shadow in the middle of our beam we looked at placing the LEDs off to this side and then having an angled reflector that directs the light down. In order to have a uniform spot getting the shape of the reflector might be tricky. Attached is a very rough sketch in paint for how I picture it in 2D.
Carl and I looked at Meg's edits of the lamp survey and added a few more questions. Phil talked to an OR nurse found out that the surgeon is the one who adjusts the position of the lamp and does so frequently. He needs to be able to move it even when he has instruments in his hands. Phil suggested that we have a pedal that unlocks the hinges so the surgeon can use his foot. One possible problem I've thought of since yesterday's meeting is that this design forces the surgeon to be standing next to the lamp stand. If we used a system similar to the cables for bicycle breaks we could have a few pedals set up under the table.
2: Tasks:
Due to exams and some other scheduling difficulties many of you couldn't make it to yesterday's meeting. Therefore instead of just listing who is doing what for the week we'll do task assignment via email. Email me (cc'ing the mheal-lamp) if you are interested in one of these tasks. As always if you have any questions or are having a hard time finding anything useful don't hesitate to shoot me an email.
Pedal Design: Phil
Reflector Design: If you miss high school trig this might be the job for you. Based on the specs for a minor surgical lamp (6-8" spot from 36") we need to figure out a good design for a reflector. Multiple people can work on this either independently or together so that we have multiple minds hacking away at this. This is the primary non-circuit part of the design that remains.
Emerging Markets Club: The b-school has a club called the Emerging Market club that looks into starting businesses in developing countries. Their advisor is Ted London, who gave the talk at last week's general M-HEAL meeting. We need someone to be a liaison between the two groups to see if there is any way we can help each other. If they are interested we might want to send a person or two to one of their meetings to talk about the lamp and see their general approach. I can give you an email introduction if you want so that it's not just an email out of the blue for them.
Market Research: We need to find out how large of a market there is for the lamp in terms of people and in terms of hospitals and clinics. Alex posted some relevant information on the Ctools site. We're targeting clinics and hospitals in developing countries that have access to unreliable electricity and those where the primary light source is currently ambient lighting or flashlights. This might be difficult but if you're interested just send me an email and I can work with the other officers to assemble a list of places to check for info.
Competitors: At the end of the month we're bringing our lamp design to a venture capital conference. For that conference we need to have good information on the status quo. I believe there are a few links of similar designs on the Ctools site but we need to make sure we have a comprehensive list.
Survey: See next item.
3. Lamp Survey:
As mentioned previously, M-HEAL is sending out a survey with the various student organizations that go on mission trips to developing countries. The survey team has asked us to look over and update the survey. The current version is attached. If you have any suggestions let me know, I'll be sending our edits to the survey team in a couple days.
4. Project Blog:
All of you should have gotten my email from last night that our project blog is up and running. Please post all the information you've found on that site. I want to make sure that we can get all the important information from just looking at the blog so that someone doesn't have to read through 10 links just to find the power consumption of a typical LED. Links should be well labeled and with a short summary of the key information found in it (following with the example from before a link containing a table of the specs for LEDs should be labeled as such and have basic facts like typical power consumption mentioned in the summary).
5. Next Week:
At our next meeting people will talk about the information and designs they worked on this week, we'll go over the general business plan for the lamp both in the short and long terms, we'll go over the M-HEAL IP policy, and we'll figure out tasks for the following week. There is a general M-HEAL meeting next week at 6pm in 1303 EECS and we will be meeting directly after that at approximately 7:00.
-Steve
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
M-HEAL Lamp Blog
Hi everyone, this website is where the M-HEAL surgical lamp design team will be keeping track of its progress. For members of the team please put up a post whenever you find something interesting relating to the project. After every meeting we have I'll post a summary of what we did (similar to the weekly update emails).
If you're not on the team but are interested in what we do this site should show our progress and hopefully provide a guide for how (or more likely how not) to run a similar project.
M-HEAL is a student organization at the University of Michigan dedicated to improving access to medical technologies in the developing world. One way we approach this mission is through design projects. A ultra-low cost surgical lamp with a battery backup is our first design project and is the focus of this site. For more information about M-HEAL please visit our website: www.umich.edu/~mheal
Steve
Lamp Design Lead
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