Portable Pelvic Examination Table

Abstract

It is important to understand the possible cultural implications of a medical device before it is designed. It is also crucial to follow up with field testing to not only examine the functionality but also the cultural acceptance of the design. The goal of this design project is to diminish the barrier of transportation to secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities and services by developing and constructing a portable gynecology examination table for use by community healthcare and planning services (CHPS) workers in the Sene District, Ghana. This idea was first developed by a group of 12 undergraduates from interdisciplinary backgrounds who traveled to Ghana in Summer 2008. This design will then be introduced to the same field site in Summer 2009. The method of field site observation, prototype design, introduction of prototype to field site, and re-design of the prototype is part of the Global Health Design curriculum which is currently being introduced by Professor Kathleen Sienko and colleagues at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. An essential part of this curriculum and of our design is the Co-Creational component. The collaboration between our engineering team and the Ghanaian and American clinicians was and will be essential to developing a final product that is both culturally competent and meets the goal of improving the access to care for women in rural Ghana.