Posted on December 16, 2022
“Future calamities – whether natural or man-made – and the new normal, our ongoing quest for universal healthcare, these will require a strong biomedical device program,” said Dr. Edward H.M. Wang, Vice Chancellor for Research of UP Manila and Program Leader of UP Surgical Innovation & Biotechnology Laboratory (UP SIBOL), during the inauguration of the Lim Ka Thong Makerspace on the first day of this year’s UP Manila Science & Technology Week. In his talk before a packed Ramon S. Ang auditorium last December 5 at the Henry Sy Sr. Medical Sciences Building, Dr. Wang shared the journey of how UP SIBOL came to be, the program’s vision for the future, and how the Lim Ka Thong Makerspace will empower local medical device development.
Turning crisis into opportunity
“Almost all medical devices present in developing countries are often unaffordable. They’re maladapted to our resource settings,“ Dr. Wang began, citing a WHO report and a case study on the barriers to medical device development. “And when the devices break down, spare parts remain unavailable for weeks and months, sometimes rendering the equipment - no matter how expensive - permanently useless.”
He remarked on the glaring absence of locally-made equipment in Philippine healthcare facilities — a dire situation that needed urgent attention and fixing. But even in the face of a challenge, the UP Manila Vice Chancellor for Research shared an insight of hope: that despite difficulties, we have the capacity to ideate, create, and utilize biomedical equipment as we find ways to achieve Universal Healthcare.
Reframing problems as a springboard and with the collaboration between clinicians of UP Manila and the engineers of UP Diliman, proposals have been made to kickstart collaborative studies. By the year-end of December 2019, the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) has approved a grant to initiate UP SIBOL and the program was poised to solve pressing clinical problems with engineering solutions.
Its newfound momentum, however, faced a looming threat as COVID-19 wreaked havoc and lockdowns were imposed in 2020 across the globe. But what initially seemed to be an obstacle eventually became a defining point for UP SIBOL to transform crisis into opportunity.
“We saw the formation in quick succession of different collaborative groups to protect, to disinfect, and to distance the healthcare workers,” Dr. Wang shared about the effort that sprung with the dedication and commitment of volunteer clinicians from UP Manila and the engineers, scientists, and artists from UP Diliman.
Persisting with its mission to serve and continuing to maximize online communication tools, the program overcame limitations in infrastructure, finance, and equipment amidst a health crisis. In a short span of time, UP SIBOL has taken on the added identity of UP SIBOL COVID task force - a group committed to come together to combat the pandemic with biomedical innovations.
Team science at work
The devices from the UP SIBOL COVID task force are categorized into four groups: the disinfection devices, personal protective equipment, telehealth devices, and support devices.
Dr. Philip Fullante, Program Coordinator of UP SIBOL, presented the group’s innovations and prototypes during the event, introducing them as the group’s response to the extraordinary demand for affordable and accessible medical devices during the pandemic. Dr. Prospero Naval, Jr. of UP Diliman’s Department of Computer Science and one of UP SIBOL’s project investigators also delivered a keynote presentation on the applications of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine.
Among the examples of the several works by the COVID task force include the SANIPOD, a no contact self-contained disinfection cubicle deployed in PGH, and MyBESHIE, a telepresence robot for deployment designed to connect patients in isolation. Among many others, the inventions also include the Prone Pillow Plus, a supportive pillow for pregnant and obese patients in acute respiratory failure, and the Powered Air Purifying Respirator, a battery-powered PPE, for commercialization.
While the UP SIBOL COVID task force emerged during a time of crisis, it has helped the UP SIBOL establish its role in addressing the needs of the country in the new normal and future emergencies.
This strategic direction can now be further accelerated as the entirety of the new Medical Sciences Building’s 9th floor has been provided for UP SIBOL in support of their mission. The newly inaugurated area houses UP SIBOL’s training, administrative, and research offices, recognized as the Lim Ka Thong Makerspace.
Continuing legacy
“We did not realize at that time that we have - by forming the UP SIBOL COVID task force - opened so many doors. Not only did each of these prototypes provide much-needed service for our healthcare workers and patients but we have also begun on the road to evidence-based biomedical device design,” Dr. Wang remarked.
And the Lim Ka Thong Makerspace plays an important role in supporting UP SIBOL as it pursues the road for a better equipped Philippine healthcare system.
“With SIBOL, we now have a collaboration between medicine and engineering,” said Mr. Philip Lim, CEO and President of Linton Inc., who delivered a message on behalf of the Lim Ka Thong family. Mr. Lim envisions that the facility would be a venue that celebrates legacy and captures his father’s interest for both engineering and medicine; a venue where doctors and engineers can discover practical health solutions for the benefit of the masses.
It is a place to design, build, and test locally-made biomedical inventions. Conversations Leading To Innovation and Collaboration (CLIC) rooms are located in the middle of the 9th floor to generate ideas and the Invention Lab is a designated space to allow those ideas to turn into reality. Once the crude prototypes have been created, they can be tested in the nursery which also alternates as a skills lab wherein clinicians can practice intervention and surgical skills.
Within an environment favorable to drive change, the road for discovery not only expands but also opens intersections. The inauguration of the Lim Ka Thong Makerspace ushers in an era of accelerated discovery of interdisciplinary collaboration, support for next-generation ideas, and an empowered innovation ecosystem. From supporting ideation up to production, the Lim Ka Thong UP SIBOL facility is poised to be a venue where conversations are transformed into collaborations and ideas are honed into proudly Filipino inventions.