Danielle Zurovcik, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has developed a $3 device that can speed injuries' healing time, which she tested out in Haiti.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate student Danielle Zurovcik’s invention is nothing more than a bellows pump attached to a tube—separately, they cost about $3 to purchase. But when assembled, her vacuum pump device can be an essential tool in helping injured patients heal.
Zurovcik put her invention to the test in the most challenging of circumstances: post-earthquake Haiti, where countless people had been severely injured by falling debris. In mid-February, Zurovcik flew to Port-au-Prince with a wound-care team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, armed with prototypes of her new invention.
The $3 pump functions as a negative-pressure device, removing fluid and bacteria from the site of a wound, which keeps the wound clean and may allow the injury to heal as much as three times faster. Although such devices have long been in use to treat burn victims and chronic wounds, the machines typically weigh between five and ten pounds, and require a source of electricity, making them impractical in disaster settings. Because Zurovcik’s device relies on only a hand pump, it is portable and practical for even the most dire circumstances.
Zurovcik’s device was used on only a handful of patients, but the doctors found that it helped to keep wounds free of infection and required fewer painful bandage changes. And even though the medical facility was understaffed, the team found that the patients’ families were always happy to provide any help necessary.
“We learned that family members are interested in being trained and motivated to keep the device charged because they saw the benefits for their loved ones,” said Robert Riviello, a trauma surgeon from Brigham and Women’s who used the device to treat patients in Haiti. “We saw patients twice a day, but it became clear that we could come back days later and the device would still be charged.”