Recent news
September 2011
NEJM article highlights need for innovation to develop new medical devices
September 15, 2011 --The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) recently featured a perspective piece that outlines some current obstacles to the use of medical devices in developing countries and urges the use of greater innovation to help resolve these challenges.
Many low-and middle-income countries do not have the capacity and infrastructure to support medical devices created for industrialized nations. According to the article, “about 70% of complex medical devices sit inoperable at their destinations in developing countries and most basic devices don’t reach developing-country populations in adequate numbers.”
Sidhartha Singa and Michele Barry from Stanford University, the authors of the piece, push for a greater emphasis on cross-disciplinary innovation to identify the needs of developing countries and develop cost-effective devices, processes, and technologies. The authors also suggest an increased use of public-private partnerships to help spur collaborative innovation and help promote accessibility of devices in developing countries.
