About our project
No mother should die giving birth.
The problem: Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH)
PPH, excessive bleeding after childbirth, is a recognized global health tragedy. It kills over 150,000 women annually and causes up to 60% of all maternal mortality in some countries.
PPH is easily treatable with emergency obstetric intervention in hospital setting. However, medical care isn’t accessible to the millions
of mothers worldwide that give birth at home. Developing countries often face a rural-urban divide in which infrastructure is concentrated in cities and healthcare is largely inaccessible to low-income women in the surrounding remote areas.
Very often, mothers die en route to a hospital.
Our Solution: Tampostat
In an effort to find a solution to this tragic problem, 5 biomedical engineering students at Columbia University invented Tampostat, a low
cost and easy-to-use emergency obstetric device.
Any village midwife or traditional birth attendant with minimal training can use Tampostat. They can minimize blood loss by attaching a
condom to the device, guiding it into an intra-uterine position, and inflating the condom to apply pressure against the uterine wall and
compress its blood vessels.
By reducing or even stopping blood loss, Tampostat gives these women more time to reach a hospital and increases their chance of survival.
Design, Safety & Efficacy
Initial tests using a uterine model, which simulated PPH using a blood substitute with a postpartum blood pressure of 150 mmHg, showed
a 56% reduction in blood loss when the device was used.
Located on the bottom of the device is a pressure release valve, which allows excess air in the condom to escape, preventing uterine tissue
damage and maintaining a constant preset pressure.
This important safety feature allows birth attendants with varying degrees of medical training to use the device safely by preventing over
inflation. In addition, the pressure release valve allows for periodic uterine contractions that occur during patient transportation by letting appropriate volumes of air to escape.
What makes Tampostat special?
Tamponades (surgical balloons that reduce blood loss by applying uterine pressure) are a proven maternal health intervention but are often
too expensive for use in developing nations.
These devices generally cost between $200 and $300 and require a doctor, making it an unlikely option in developing nations.
The beauty of Tampostat is in its simplicity – Its ease of use along with a price tag of less than $10, makes it a safe and affordable choice for midwives and traditional birth attendants throughout the world.
Additionally, Tampostat is made of polyethylene components that are easy to manufacture, as well as other parts that are easily replaceable
such as condoms (distributed by many international organizations and NGOs) and rubber bulb pumps. This not only minimizes the cost of the
device, but also makes it easy to repair.
Our Funding Goal(s)
We currently have several maternal health related partners in Bangladesh including physicians, medical schools, and NGOs who are
very excited about Tampostat.
With $10,000, we will be able to manufacture our first batch of devices and conduct a small clinical trial at Bangladesh’s premiere medical
university hospital located in Dhaka.
With $25,000, we will be able to conduct a much larger clinical trial involving several medical universities throughout Bangladesh. This will allow us to operate in regions where PPH is most devastating.
With $50,000, we will be able to conduct the most important type of clinical trial – we will train midwives and birth attendants, the real users of Tampostat, to use our device during this community-based clinical study.
These clinical trials will allow us to improve Tampostat’s final design for practical use in the field and prove to the medical community that it can reduce hemorrhage in any setting.
Our ultimate goal is for every midwife and birth attendant to have a birthing kit that includes Tampostat. This will help save hundreds of
thousands of women. With your help, we can start making a real social impact and ensure that no mother has to die giving birth.
About Us:
From Left to Right, Jason Rosenberg, Anthony Elder, Mikail Kamal, John Esau & Marissa Dreyer
Tampostat was recently awarded Columbia University’s prestigious Biomedical Engineering Capstone award, an honor reserved for the most innovative design project of the year. Our team members:
Mikail Kamal – Chief Executive Officer
Mikail, an aspiring doctor and a native of Bangladesh who grew up in New York City, recently graduated from Columbia with a dual degree
in Mathematics and Biomedical Engineering. His extensive clinical and research experience along with his various internships have
allowed him to establish valuable connections in both industry and in medicine. His research interest includes cardiology, maternal health and developing sustainable medical devices for low resource settings.
Jason Rosenberg – Chief Financial Officer
Jason graduated from UW-Madison with a B.S. in Medical History and a Global Health Certificate. His wide array of international health
experience includes onsite tsunami disaster relief in Indonesia, traveling the Himalayas with Solar Sisters for renewable energy projects,
and fieldwork on maternal health and child mortality at STC-India. His professional interests include malnutrition, infectious disease
epidemiology, and environmental health.
John Esau – Chief Technology Officer
John is an aspiring doctor who pursued a degree in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia for his love of knowledge. Firmly believing
in the humanitarian goals of Jibon Health, he hopes that the company can help ease the socioeconomic conditions that plague poor maternal
healthcare. John’s research interests involve brain-computer interfaces and neuro-engineering. John’s enthusiasm and sense of humor are
invaluable to any undertaking, particularly a team-oriented health care project like ours.
Marissa Dreyer – Chief Marketing Officer
Marissa is a Biomedical Engineering graduate of Columbia University. Her research expertise includes tissue engineering and global health
initiatives. She has been deeply involved with Columbia’s Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society as well as the Student Health Outreach organization, which aims to improve the health of NYC residents. Marissa hopes to continue tailoring her educational interests by
combining BME with sustainable development.
Anthony Elder – Creative Director
Anthony Elder graduated from Fordham University at Lincoln Center in 2011 with a BA in Graphic Design. His professional work can be found
internationally and in many forms including product design, marketing and info graphics for various products. Anthony’s artistic background
and creative vision is a unique and invaluable asset to the Jibon Health team.
Our advisers include faculty members from Columbia University’s Engineering School, Medical School and School of Public Health along
with several prominent obstetricians and gynecologists from New York and Bangladesh.
-
Have a question?
If the info above does not help, you can ask the project creator directly.
-
-
){kind=link}
){kind=link}