Tuberculosis laboratory
Ventanilla, Peru
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Imagine a small, cramped laboratory in a tuberculosis ridden part of Peru.
In this lab they work with hundreds of TB samples each week, trying to diagnose the disease and fight its spread. But the personnel have limited access to resources and equipment, and the stakes are high since they risk being infected by the samples they work with. Every precaution must be taken to prevent the spread of the disease but due to lack of resources, they don’t have access to biosafety equipment that is considered a must-have in more developed contexts,
they don't have a biosafety cabinet.
Project team members:
Carl Wingren Bergman
Filip Eliasson
Performed in cooperation with the Lima based NGO IFHAD http://www.ifhad.org/
The Problem & Inspiration
Tuberculosis is a global pandemic, killing someone approximately every 20 seconds, particularly in low-resource settings where healthcare is restricted by shortages. Peru is one such place. (TB alliance 2023)
Diagnosing the disease requires careful handling of infectious material, which poses a significant risk to laboratory staff. In Peru and other low-resource settings, the lack of biosafety cabinets in laboratories compounds this risk of infection. Some efforts have been made and donated equipment can be found in some labs, sadly, this equipment is often not built to withstand the conditions in these health posts. The maintenance and repair of this equipment is untenable with the resources at hand.
During this project, our mission has been to develop a frugal, yet effective biosafety solution that can be implemented in these low-resource laboratories. This is the story of my most demanding and developing project yet, and the solution that emerged from our efforts.
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TB causes more deaths than Malaria and HIV/AIDS combined
WHO (2022) & Statista (2021)
The context
Peru is a country with a complex and challenging set of conditions for a designer. It remains a highly informal economy, with a significant proportion of the population working without access to social protection or formal employment benefits. This means that falling ill, particularly with a chronic and potentially life-threatening disease like tuberculosis, has devastating consequences for individuals and their families as illness can quickly translate into poverty.
In this context, the development of a frugal biosafety solution for low-resource tuberculosis laboratories was not only a design challenge, but also a public health intervention with the potential to help reduce the spread of disease. It was easy to motivate our work because the urgent needs of the communities we were working with were so obvious.
A Frugal Design solution
The Frugal Ventilated Workstation (FVWS) is our new open source design. It functions as a biosafety enclosure developed specifically for front-line tuberculosis diagnosis. It is essentially a box consisting of five acrylic panels that make up the base, sides, and top of the enclosure, with a removable window assembly. The internal baffle & the integrated damper are vital parts that give a controlled and protective airflow using different fans found in the context. The box is the size of an oven , and weighs about as much as two bowling balls. It fits in a flat-pack box that is comparable to a family sized pizza. (This is tiny in comparison to conventional biosafety cabinets)
This IS a design with good characteristics, but in the context of Peru, this design is valuable for what it IS NOT
Conventional biosafety cabinet (left), The new design (right).
The parts & assemblies of the FVWS
The design is Implementable
The FVWS stands out among comparable products due to its unique features and benefits. One of the key advantages of the FVWS is its cost-effectiveness, which is achieved through size reduction, local production, and structural design for reduced material usage. The FVWS costs 90% less than comparable alternatives, costing less than 1500 Soles (approximately 400 dollars).
The FVWS's smaller size not only reduces its cost but also makes it more sturdy and durable, while making it a great fit for smaller labs commonly found in this context. Additionally, its lightweight and modular construction make it easy to transport and fit into the boot of the type of taxi used in Lima.
Another benefit of the FVWS is its simplified assembly and manufacturing process, which makes it economical and easy to repair. Any local acrylic workshop can produce the FVWS, and its single material and production method reduces complexity and cost in the supply chain. Material homogeneity makes the product more robust, which is otherwise a common issue in acrylic products. Moreover, the transparency of the material provides added flexibility for lighting.
Users find the FVWS easy to use and understand, thanks to its reduced complexity and transparency. The product's accurate production method gives low tolerances and highly reliable reproducibility, resulting in high user satisfaction. Overall, the FVWS is a unique and valuable product that offers significant benefits compared to other comparable products in the market.
The implementation of Frugal Design, and utilization of resources that were available to us, led to a better solution, and a better design practice
During the project, we intended to make a better biosafety solution for tuberculosis laboratories in Peru, but in our venture to do this thoroughly, using Frugal Design, we have developed a new Frugal Design framework for use by design practitioners in contexts with similar implementation challenges.
Our new Frugal Design framework
The take away
The take away
One of the biggest challenges we faced in this initially unfamiliar context was the need to deal with huge uncertainties. In a context where resources are scarce and the rules of the game are constantly shifting, it was essential that we remained adaptable and responsive to change. We quickly learned that our success would depend on our ability to collaborate closely with local stakeholders and listen carefully to their needs and feedback.
I addition, working in a new cultural context required us to be aware of our own biases and assumptions, as well as to understand and respect the cultural perspectives of our partners. This is why we have developed new communication skills, and how to maintain productivity while also being patient and flexible in our interactions,
This project has provided us with invaluable experience that will aid us in the future. By learning to navigate uncertainty, collaborate with stakeholders, and work in unfamiliar contexts, I believe I have developed the skills and resilience needed to tackle complex design challenges in any context.
DESIGN PAPER ON THE WAY
While the most important result for us has been to meet the users and hear them express their sense of relief working under improved safety conditions, additionally we are happy to have contributed to development of the Frugal Design approach. We believe that Frugal Design can be put to good use in the future, for this reason we have a Design paper on the way.
The FVWS repository
Where all resources and the open source design is accessible
Google Sites
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