Project Overview
TrueAid is a mobile and web application that facilitates in the management and communication between donors and beneficiaries during the medical equipment donation process.
My Role
This project features my skills in UI Design and Life Cycle Design. This was an individual project.
Timeline
1 week, 2020
Tools
Adobe XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, Fusion 360
The Problem
A dumping ground for old medical equipment in Malawi
Source: Stephen Rudy/Rights of Gradian Health
Medical Equipment 'Graveyards'
"Dumping of obsolete equipment by High Income Countries has been described as 'morally reprehensible' " (1). Where does the medical equipment of High Income Countries (HIC) go when the hospitals and medical centers upgrade? The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of the medical equipment in Lower and Middle Income Countries (LMIC) is donated by HICs with high hopes of addressing existing disparities, being 'less bad' on the sustainability meter, and getting a sizable charitable tax write off.
Unfortunately, after decades of HICs essentially dumping complex and in some cases hazardous biomedical machines on LMICs with little to no effort in supporting a functional transfer, developing countries have accumulated graveyards of medical machine waste of which they never reaped the benefits. WHO has estimated that "Only 10 to 30 percent of donated equipment becomes operational in developing countries"(1) and the beneficiaries and donors point to an overall lack of planning, collaboration and accountability that has led to the failure of this intended sustainability and aid mission.
Does this failure come as a surprise? It shouldn't. There is a worldwide systemic crisis of how to sustainably manage the life cycle of physical products. However, accounting for the world's medical equipment using cloud-based information and communication technology provides a promising way to mend this broken system.
Sources
(1) Marks, I., and J.e. Fitzgerald. “Medical Equipment Donation in Low-Resource Settings: Qualitative Review of Guidelines for Surgery and Anaesthesia in Low and Middle Income Countries.” International Journal of Surgery, vol. 36, 2016, doi:10.1016/j.ijsu.2016.08.270. doi:10.3390/proceedings2130910.
(2) “ Guidelines for Health Care Equipment Donations”, World Health Organization, 2000
(3) Bhadelia, Nahid. “Rage Against The Busted Medical Machines.” NPR, 8 Sept. 2016, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/09/08/492842274/rage-against-the-busted-medical-machines?t=1580222102171
(4) Wang, Xi Vincent, and Lihui Wang. “Digital Twin-Based WEEE Recycling, Recovery and Remanufacturingin the Background of Industry 4.0.” International Journal of Production Research, vol. 57, no. 12, 2018, pp.3892–3902., doi:10.1080/00207543.2018.1497819
The Solution
The donation process, simplified.
TrueAid a mobile and desktop application that helps donors and beneficiaries manage the donation process, end to end. Donors from high resource facilities can register, track and manage all current equipment on the floor and list equipment when items are ready to be donated. Beneficiaries from low resource facilities can view equipment available for donation, submit proposals based on World Health Organization guidelines, and communicate with the donor throughout the pre-donation and post-donation period to ensure equipment is utilized.
Donor equipment management, made easy.
Donors can streamline the donation process as soon as they acquire new equipment. Register new equipment with the correct information when it is fresh out of the box and keep track of the location, use duration and maintenance history all in one place.
Connect the physical to the digital.
Track every piece of equipment by attaching a unique contactless NFC tag generated and provided by TrueAid when equipment is registered.
Match beneficiaries with the equipment they urgently need.
Search for available medical equipment
Beneficiary aid proposal flow
Low resource setting beneficiary accounts can search for donor listed equipment that matches their specific needs. When an ideal match is found, beneficiaries can submit a proposal based on WHO questionnaire guidelines and assign a management team to the donor for review. This process makes it easier for both parties to decide whether the donation is appropriate.
Keep the communication lines open.
Donor and beneficiary communication chat
Once a donation proposal is accepted, donors and beneficiaries can communicate about logistics, any issues that arise and hold training sessions.
Reflection
This project helped me explore new possibilities within product lifecycle management (PLM). I gained new insight into the lifecycle complexity of biomedical machinery in multiple ownership scenarios.
I’m deeply interested in PLM, particularly with multiple user scenarios, so this project grew out of researching and contemplating different ways in which physical products could be tracked throughout changes in ownership. Furthermore, I discovered that the medical equipment donation system was ripe for a management process improvement of this type, which could improve sustainability factors but also health and social welfare outcomes.