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Two DtM Student Teams Launch Spin-Off Initiatives

We are happy to report that DtM has helped to launch two groups of students, one at MIT and one at Stanford University, as spin-off initiatives to continue the development of their infant incubator prototypes. The students are building on the work they completed for their 2007 DtM design projects. Both designs are inspired by the pioneering work of both MIT's Amy Smith who developed the phase-change vaccine incubator (scroll down for a description in the GOOD magazine article), and the first phase-change infant incubator (PDF link) design by DtM seminar students Prasanga Lokuge and Aileen Wu in the 2002 Design that Matters seminar at the MIT Media Lab.

The talented members of this year's teams could have easily found high-paying jobs in the private sector. We are very happy to see them making a career commitment to improving lives in poor communities. The student efforts will complement DtM's continuing collaboration with the CIMIT Global Health Initiative.

Embrace Global

The Embrace Global team is creating a $25 incubator designed to work in primary healthcare centers or in homes. It uses an innovative phase-change material in a sleeping bag design to regulate a baby's temperature. They aim to save 135,000 babies in India after five years, and reduce the health problems of another 3.8 million. DtM recruited this team through Prof. Jim Patell's "Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability" course at the Stanford University d-school.

The Embrace team awards to date include an Echoing Green Fellowship, 1st place in the Stanford Social E-Challenge competition, 3rd place in the 2008 Primal Prize competition and a "featured entry" in the 2008 Buckminster Fuller Challenge.

The team is lead by Jane Chen and Rahul Panicker. Jane recently graduated from a joint MBA/MPP program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. She formerly worked for the Chi Heng Foundation, and the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative in Africa. Rahul Panicker recently completed a PhD in Electrical Engineering at Stanford. He is also an alumnus of Stanford's Institute of Design, and received his B.Tech from IIT Madras, India. Prior to his PhD, he worked at the particle accelerator at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

Appropria Medical Solutions

The Appropria Medical Solutions team, from MIT, is developing Anya, a portable infant incubator. Anya increases the reach of neonatal care for premature babies older than 25 weeks of gestation. The team is focusing on the problem of infant transportation, providing temperature regulation and adequate support for a range of infant sizes. DtM recruited members of this team from MIT's Leaders for Manufacturing program, specifically Prof. Jan Klein's "Tiger Team" semester project program.

The Appropria team awards to date include Regional Finalist, Global Social Venture Competition and Winner, Legatum Grant, MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship.

The team is lead by Dr. Basmaa Ali and Subrangshu Datta. Basmaa completed her MD in internal medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and is currently pursuing her MBA at MIT Sloan. Subrangshu was a 2007 MIT Leaders for Manufacturing Fellow, and has six years of experience in engineering and supply chain management at Cessna Aircraft Company. Their advisors include Dr. Vinod Paul, head of pediatrics at the All India Institute of Medical Science in Delhi, and MacArthur Award recipient Dr. Abhay Bang.

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