Saving Lives at Birth
HOPE’s Sr. Director for Women’s & Children’s Health is at SLAB showcasing a portable pediatric device that could make dramatic strides in assisting health workers to identify infants and children with danger signs.
Project HOPE Among Finalists at SLAB Grand Challenge for Development 2014 in Washington D.C.
We Won! Check out our press release!
The Savings Lives at Birth partnership was launched in 2011 by USAID, the government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, and the U.K’s Department for International Development. The Grand Challenge is a global call for groundbreaking, scalable solutions to infant and maternal mortality around the time of birth and Project HOPE is among 52 finalists competing in the final stage of the competition at the Development XChange in Washington D.C. HOPE’s Senior Director for Women’s and Children’s Health, Judith Moore, is there to showcase Inpsire, a portable electronic pediatric device that could make dramatic strides in assisting health workers to identify infants and children with danger signs, including signs of pneumonia, who need immediate treatment.
Pneumonia is the number one killer of children under five in the developing world — in the five minutes it will take to read this blog, 15 children will have died. To address this problem, Project HOPE teamed up with Virginia-based firm Guardit to develop a pioneering device that could make dramatic strides in diagnosing a disease that claims more young victims than AIDS, Malaria and measles combined. INSPIRE is a patented electronic device that will help health workers make swift and accurate early diagnoses of pneumonia and save lives by making an accurate reading of a neonate’s breath count — a key indicator of pneumonia.
Currently the standard method for counting breath rate in developing countries relies on health workers visually counting breaths and using a one minute timer or using counting beads that often result in mistakes and then either not treating children who need antibiotics, or treating those who don’t need the medicines.
Obtaining reliable respiratory rates is a key step in the successful identification and correct treatment of pneumonia. Healthcare workers in the field will be able to better serve the population and correctly diagnosis pneumonia by having a new and more accurate device available.
INSPIRE has been undergoing rigorous testing and producing accurate respiratory rates even when a child is in different positions. Its rugged design and easy-to-use interface make it ideal for developing world environments. The device works when it is placed on the chest of a child, and uses a patent pending algorithm, developed by Guardit, to provide an accurate reading.
Project HOPE is honored to be a finalist for the second time in this Grand Challenge. Round four finalists were selected from almost 500 submissions and the final winners will be announced on August 1.
Watch a Video of Judith Moore Demonstrating the Inspire Device
Learn More About Inspire
