Author: Institute of Global Health Innovation

World Food Day – Of abundance and scarcity

By Saba Fatima Mirza, Institute of Global Health Innovation to mark World Food Day 2015

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When we talk about food, we must talk about its abundance and scarcity.

According to a recent United Nations report, about one-third of the world’s food, a shocking 1.3 billion tonnes, is thrown away each year. While some of this waste is a spinoff of the production phase of the food cycle, a higher portion of food is wasted at the consumption stage in high-income countries. This has to do with a combination of dietary habits and consumer behaviour.

8243558457_30e0f35297_oFood supply is also abundant in high-income countries, and over eating has become a serious issue. The NHS identifies “eating too much and moving too little” as the major cause of obesity, which is set to impact about 74% of men and 64% of women in the UK by 2030. In Australia, the Herald Sun reports that every third person is expected to be obese by 2025, causing a loss of $87.7 billion to the economy. In addition to the economic impact, research has shown that obesity is directly linked to higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, dementia and numerous other diseases, which can be controlled through relevant interventions to reduce obesity, as highlighted in our WISH 2013 report on obesity. (more…)

Photographs that change the world


student-challenges-competition-2015-168By Student Challenges Audience Choice Award winners Jacob Levi, Amanda Stenbaek and Hiba Saleem-Danish

In Feb 2015, we took part in the IGHI Student Challenges competition and won the 3rd place prize of £1000, towards our Photovoice App Development Project.

Photovoice is a research method, which is already in use globally, whereby photographic data is collected and analyzed in order to gain insight into various health, social or community problems. Currently, the methodology is inefficient and expensive. Cameras are distributed to communities in and they’re asked to capture images, which depict a problem in their life, however, our concept was to modernize and improve the Photovoice methodology in a digital age. At the time of the competition, our concept was very new, exciting and flexible. We wanted to make a mobile application to store and take the photos. Since then, we have done some follow up research with users of Photovoice and to make our service more useable. We have rebranded our service to create: My Vupoint – a mobile responsive website, which is the first stage of our vision. (more…)

Innovations in biotechnology

student-challenges-competition-2015-171By Student Challenges Competition runner up Nicolas Kylilis

Nicolas won the £2,500 prize money last year for his inventive idea for a new platform technology called DaPHNI for developing point-of-care medical diagnostic devices. The DaPHNI platform has the potential to have a large, multifaceted positive impact on global health both in developed countries, at healthcare centres, or as home diagnostic kits, as well as in developing countries.

The problem

pregnancy test

In the past few decades, innovations in biotechnology have brought to the market small portable and affordable medical diagnostic devices that people can use to monitor their health, the so-called biosensors. Some examples of biosensor devices such as the pregnancy test strip and the blood glucose meter are widely known and used by the public.

Biosensor devices work by detecting a biomarker molecule in a patient’s sample (blood, urine etc.) that corresponds to a medical condition and reports the results to the user of the device. For example, the blood glucose meter measures the concentration of glucose – the biomarker – in a diabetic patient’s blood to help him plan meals and medication. This technology allows for diagnostic testing to take place at the comfort of patient’s home and resulted in the dramatic rise in the standard of care for diabetic patients.

Healthcare reforms being pursued by many western countries focus on providing better and more convenient access to healthcare for all patients. This, in combination with an increased interest on a more patient-centric healthcare system creates the incentives for the development of more biosensor tests to diagnose even more medical conditions. However, for the medical conditions where the diagnostic need is the greatest – an example being cancer prognosis or after-treatment monitoring – current biosensor technology is inadequate. This is because such medical conditions have complex diagnostic profiles of many biomarker signatures that current biosensor technology proves inadequate. As a result, diagnosis can only take place in hospitals and research centers with sophisticated equipment and associated with large costs and thus not available to many. (more…)

IGHI Student Challenge Competition: Reducing the Forces in Brain Surgery using Smart Surgical Instruments

By the winners of the 2014 Student Challenges Competition, Christopher Payne and Hani Marcus 

brain surgeryBrain surgery is challenging surgery. When brain tissue is handled incorrectly, the consequences can be catastrophic. The manoeuvres in brain surgery require dexterity, precision and careful force application, but even the best surgeons have limits. We humans are imprecise and we make mistakes. Robots, on the other hand, can operate beyond the physiological limits of a human. This is a central concept to many surgical robots: the perfect fusion of human and machine.

In brain surgery, the NeuroArm is the finest example of the assistive surgical robot concept. It is a remote-controlled robot that can operate with micro-scale precision. It is also one of the few robots in clinical practice to incorporate haptic-feedback, so that the surgeon can not only see what they are doing, they can also feel what they are doing too. The robot does this by continually sensing the minute tool-tissue forces and relaying these sensations back to the surgeon. There are downsides though. This type of robotic system is large, expensive and is yet to be widely adopted in to clinical practice.

Hani and Chris presenting at the Dragons Den event.For the 2014 IGHI Student Challenge, we proposed an alternative solution to help surgeons handle brain tissue delicately. Rather than developing new robots, we sought to integrate robotic technology in to existing surgical tools. We developed a smart surgical dissecting device. It can sense the delicate tool-tissue forces and uses a subtle vibration to inform the surgeon if they apply excessive force.

Our smart surgical dissector: it vibrates if the surgeon applies too much force.

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A video memoir: Our gap year experience in the Gambia

By James Frater, Amos Bursary student

As part of my gap year, with the help of the Amos Bursary and Imperial College London, I was given the opportunity to spend 3 months in The Gambia. I assisted the PROLIFICA (Prevention of Liver Fibrosis and Cancer in Africa) project, where I was able to experience various laboratory procedures and resource-poor healthcare services.

I was given a thorough induction on laboratory etiquette and different laboratory practices, as well as training on how to handle laboratory equipment and the various biomedical samples. This meant I was confidently able to work in and navigate my way around the laboratory with a relatively good level of competence.

The majority of my time was spent in the lab collecting, processing and storing blood samples from the clinic into plasma, serum, EDTA and buffy coat. I was also able to learn how to perform other techniques such as HBsAg rapid tests, ELISAs and extracting DNA from serum to use in PCR. (more…)

World Mosquito Day 2015: The burden of Malaria today

By Alison Reynolds and Dr Thomas Churcher from Imperial’s Malaria Modelling Research Group

World Mosquito Day (20th August) commemorates the discovery that mosquitoes transmit the parasite that causes malaria, made in 1897 by British doctor Ronald Ross.

Mosquito-Infographic_Updated-13-08-2015A hundred and eighteen years later this transmission still continues, to some extent unabated. There have been huge successes in malaria control, most notably in recent years, though a child still dies every minute[1] from a disease which continues to ravage large swathes of Africa and Asia. Importantly these deaths are completely avoidable, as we have effective tools to treat malaria and stop people dying.

This is clearly illustrated by the wonderful work of French scientist Jean-Francois Trape, of Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, Senegal. He, along with his team, has lived and worked in the community of Dielmo, Senegal for the last twenty years providing diagnosis and treatment for malaria whilst conducting research. Malaria was a huge killer in this village but since they arrived only three people have died of the disease and these deaths can be ascribed to older drugs not being as effective as those we have today.

The village of Dielmo, Senegal, courtesy of Jean Francois Trape.

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Suppressing Hepatitis B to reduce the burden of liver cancer

Today, the 28th July, is World Hepatitis Day and the birthday of Nobel Laureate Professor Baruch (Barry) Blumberg, discoverer of the hepatitis B virus and developer of the first hepatitis B vaccine.

Viral hepatitis causes inflammation of the liver, caused a variety of viruses, named alphabetically from A to E. These are spread mostly through contact with infected blood or bodily fluids. With hepatitis B, it can also be passed between mothers and children, sexual partners and between patients and health workers where unsafe medical practice occurs. The prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in injection drug users is also very high, while approximately 10% of the world’s population is currently infected or has been exposed. 400 million people live with chronic viral hepatitis worldwide despite a hepatitis B vaccine and despite treatments for hepatitis B and hepatitis C becoming steadily more effective.

4000 people die of viral hepatitis every day and this message is central to today’s campaign because, for the huge impact it presents, the disease is still little known. Therefore, there is an opportunity to take action to counter this. (more…)

A Pre-Medical Gap Year Experience in The Gambia

By soon to be Imperial medical student, Hannah Lewis

photo with crocI will start my medical course at Imperial in October 2015 and I was lucky enough to spend 5 months in Gambia at the beginning of the year, gaining insight into medical research in resource-poor settings. It is the smallest country in West Africa, and it is where the British Medical Research Council (MRC) has a big research unit. I worked closely with the Prevention of Liver Fibrosis and Cancer in Africa (PROLIFICA) group, who are looking at the link between hepatitis B and liver cancer.

Initially, I was concerned that, with no previous medical training, I would not be able to learn as much from the experience as fully-fledged medical students. Security was also a concern, if more for my parents than for myself. Although Gambia was unaffected directly by the Ebola outbreak, we still had concerns about it. Despite this, I was excited for the chance to travel there. After a brief training period at St. Mary’s Hospital, it was with great excitement and some trepidation that I travelled to Gambia.

Hannah in labUpon arrival, I had thorough training in laboratory practice at MRC Gambia and I developed my skills in handling laboratory equipment and biomedical samples. I became more dexterous and efficient in many laboratory techniques. These could then be put into practice to aid the PROLIFICA study. (more…)

Liver cancer in the Gambia and what we are doing about it

By Imperial Medical Student, Aisha Chaudry

Prolifica LogoAs part of my gap year placement, I was given the opportunity to be involved in the PROLIFICA study at the Medical Research Council Unit (MRC) in The Gambia.

PROLIFICA is an EC funded project investigating liver cancer, which arises because of cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, a chronic condition that can stop the liver from functioning.

Having reached my halfway point of my time abroad, I have decided to write a report about my experience so far.

Whilst being at the MRC, I have been able to experience research in both a clinical and laboratory setting. On Mondays through to Wednesdays there are regular morning clinics held for patients who are enrolled onto the PROLIFICA study. Having spent my first few weeks at the clinic, I was able to see how the study is structured and functions on a daily basis. Blood samples are taken from patients who have a routine appointment, which are then collected by lab technicians. Aside from taking basic clinical measurements of patients, I spent time shadowing the doctors, observing ultrasounds and becoming familiar with the symptoms and signs of liver disease.

I have also spent some of my time on the paediatrics ward, where I have become familiar with other common diseases prevalent in Africa, such as Pneumonia. I gained knowledge in basic clinical skills such as analysing x-rays, listening for abnormal breath sounds and simple reflex tests. I anticipate that my clinical experience at the MRC has assisted in developing a skill set to prepare me for my own work at medical school.

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Making it pay by simple addition: win-win solutions for health and the environment

By Dr Kris Murray, Grantham Lecturer in Global Change Ecology

3D rendering of the Earth on a wheelchair

Our planet is ill. Ongoing loss and endangerment of species, degradation of marine and terrestrial ecosystems and their services, and man made changes to the global climate are dramatic symptoms of a major decline in the planet’s environmental health.

In glaring contrast, human health has improved, in some cases radically. Decreases in malnutrition, mortality due to infectious diseases and infant mortality rates, accompanied by substantial increases in life expectancy, can be observed in every major region of the world.

So why is health winning a war, while the environment is losing one?

At a fundamental level, there is a huge difference in investment. Human health is a global priority and survival, healthiness and well-being are personal objectives for almost everyone. Preservation of the environment simply isn’t. Spending on global health, for example, is at least an order of magnitude greater than for environmental conservation. (more…)