Bryan J. Ranger

Health Hackathons Drive Affordable Medical Technology Innovation Through Community Engagement

Health hackathons are multidisciplinary events bringing together diverse stakeholders to solve key health challenges through a process of co-creation. Health hackathons have gained significant traction as sources of medical innovation globally. They carry particular significance for addressing health discrepancies in resource-limited settings, where there is dire need for cost-effective medical technologies that can deliver high-quality health in an affordable and sustainable way. This paper discusses the model of MIT Hacking Medicine’s health hackathons, and its application to hackathons in India and Uganda for medical innovation by the Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies (CAMTech) of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Global Health. Case studies of successful projects coming out of these hackathons are discussed to illustrate the potential of such innovations for real-world impact and sustainable growth in frontier markets. Examples of the tools developed to support further project development after the end of the hackathon and to keep track of project progress and impact are presented. The hacking philosophy pioneered by MIT Hacking Medicine is taken one step further with the establishment of CAMTech Co-creation Labs on the ground in India and Uganda and the CAMTech Innovation Platform. The CAMTech Co-creation Labs and Innovation Platform form long-lasting international partnerships that seek to reinvent healthcare in low- and middle-income countries and offer promise for cost-effective medical solutions in both resource-limited and resource-rich settings.

Motion compensation in a tomographic ultrasound imaging system: Toward volumetric scans of a limb for prosthetic socket design

Current methods of prosthetic socket fabrication remain subjective and ineffective at creating an interface to the human body that is both comfortable and functional. Though there has been recent success using methods like magnetic resonance imaging and biomechanical modeling, a low-cost, streamlined, and repeatable process has not been fully demonstrated. Medical ultrasonography, which has significant potential to expand its clinical applications, is being pursued to acquire data that may quantify and improve the design process and fabrication of prosthetic sockets. This paper presents a new multi-modal imaging approach for acquiring volumetric images of a human limb, specifically focusing on how motion of the limb is compensated for using optical imagery.

In-vivo imaging of breast cancer with ultrasound tomography: Probing the tumor environment

We report on the use of ultrasound tomography (UST) to characterize breast cancer and study the local and distant tumor environments. We have imaged the tumor and its environment in 3 cases of breast cancer using a UST prototype and its associated image reconstruction algorithms. After generating images of reflection, sound speed and attenuation, the images were fused in combinations that allowed visualization and characterization of the interior of the tumor as well as the tissue immediate to the tumor and beyond. The reflection UST images demonstrated the presence of spiculation, and architectural distortion, indicators of both local tumor invasion and distant involvement with surrounding tissues. Furthermore, the sound speed images showed halos of elevated sound speed surrounding the tumors, indicating a local environment characterized by stiff tissues. The combination of sound speed and attenuation images revealed that the tumor interiors were the stiffest tissues in the region studied. These features and characteristics are commensurate with the known biomechanical properties of cancer and may be manifestations of the desmoplastic process that is associated with tumor invasion. We propose that UST imaging may prove to be a valuable tool for characterizing cancers and studying the tumor invasion process.

A course in prosthetics for the developing world: Merging education, research, and industry to teach biomedical design for social impact

Under the auspices of the MIT D-Lab, a team of graduate students has instructed a course since 2008 that centers around teaching low-cost prosthetic design for resource-constrained environments. Recently, the course has evolved into a fully immersive design experience that pairs student teams with real-life international stakeholders and industry partners. Following this structure, projects initiated as part of the course have been tested at field sites around the world, stimulated further research, advanced student careers, raised additional grant money, and generated peer-reviewed publications and intellectual property.

Statistical consensus matching framework for image registration

A common method for image alignment in computer vision is finding the maximum consensus transformation for a set of features in the images. This is commonly done using randomized methods such as RANSAC.

A cost-efficient spring-powered dermatome to treat skin trauma

Dermatomes are devices for the procurement of skin grafts, which are essential for successful skin transplantation. Technologically advanced dermatomes, although effective at skin harvesting, are costly to maintain. Severe skin injury is a major public health problem in resource-limited settings, where most dermatomes are manual and yield poor-quality grafts. To address this issue, this paper presents a prototype dermatome with an oscillating blade and a thickness control module that has low operation and maintenance costs. A spiral torsion spring provides energy for blade oscillation. Preliminary tests on porcine skin revealed reliable procurement of homogeneous grafts but decreased thickness control accuracy for thin (<;0.45 mm) grafts. The operationally straightforward prototype holds promise for cutaneous reconstruction in austere medical environments.