A well-regarded UNSW engineering program that repaired medical equipment in low-income countries is looking to make a comeback, with the School of Biomedical Engineering aiming to assist hospitals in Tonga.
Since 2015, UNSW has regularly partnered with Engineering World Health for seasonal ‘institutes’ that took students overseas, testing their practical skills and giving them a fresh perspective on their career paths.
Around 150 students repaired close to 2,300 pieces of medical equipment in countries like Cambodia, Nepal and Uganda.
Associate Professor Lauren Kark ran the program with her team from its inception, she says it was a great way for “students to make an impact before they even graduate”.
“It gives them the opportunity to make that difference and hopefully they’ll carry that throughout their career.”
One former student, Lucy Birdsey, went to Uganda in 2019.
“I was instantly drawn to the idea of the experience…I was looking for any way to expand my perspective of engineering globally.
“We fixed a lot of voltage regulators – equipment designed to prevent power fluctuations, which is common in the main lines. This is important, as a sensitive piece of equipment can be damaged by a surge in power. Voltage regulators were in use to prevent that, but many had blown fuses.”
Another former student, Yiyi Cheng, went to Cambodia in 2019 and found a rewarding experience that strengthened her skills and mindset.
“Given we were living in a foreign country and environment, it was also important to work on independence and challenging myself to integrate into their culture and develop relationships with people around me.”
An estimated 4.8 billion people lack access to safe, timely and affordable surgical and anaesthesia care worldwide.
Where surgical care is available in low-to-middle income countries (LMICs), ‘perioperative mortality’ (death shortly after anaesthesia or surgery) can be up to three times higher than in countries better off.
The institute programs seek to help with a problem caused by misguided altruism on this issue: The donation of medical equipment that people in LMICs may not be trained or staffed well enough to operate.
It might also be culturally inappropriate to decline a gift.
As a result, ‘medical equipment graveyards’ of obsolete or broken donated biomedical equipment are commonly seen in hospitals across these countries.
Following on from this important work, UNSW is now seeking to lead its own program tackling this issue in the Pacific region.
UNSW recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tonga’s Christ’s University in Pacific to look at ways the two universities can collaborate.
But A/Prof. Kark says UNSW’s goal is to contribute to the region, not just one country.
“We’re looking at possibilities of capacity building across the Pacific. We’ve also done some work in the Solomon Islands.”
The Tonga program is still in planning stages, but is hoping to start by January 2025.
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