The focus of lecture this week was further analyzing the practicality of implementing a medical device in low-resource settings by performing build and market feasibility analysis. The lecture also focused on the WHO Landscape Analysis and what factors can prevent the integration of new medical devices in developing countries. It was interesting to learn that lack of regulatory and international standards for medical device production in these countries can be a reason why medical devices are not easily implemented. Since many of the devices we learn about are produced in the United States or European countries, I always figured that the devices must follow the regulatory standards from these countries and the same standards would apply to African countries. However, if these African countries are going to start producing these medical devices within their local industries, regulatory standards are necessary.

I also enjoyed going back to the infant warmer that I have been focusing on the past couple weeks and further analyzing its practicality in low-resource settings. I think the infant warmer is a very innovative and cost-effective solution to a common problem in African countries. Each week it becomes more and more clear how effective and well-designed the infant warmer is and I truly believe it will make a huge difference in reducing hypothermia in low-resource countries. The material from this week gave me a new perspective and toolbox to use when addressing other design problems. The questions listed for the build and market feasibility analysis can be applied to all design ideas and will help me in the future of engineering design