Medicine Mondiale

Medicine Mondiale is an independent development agency headed by Ray Avery focused on improving life for the world's poor by developing products and technologies which have applications in both the developing and developed world markets.

Projects

Intraocular Lenses

Between 1993 and 1997 Ray Avery designed and commissioned two state-of-the-art intraocular lens laboratories in Eritrea and in Nepal.

Together these labs now supply 10% of the world market for intraocular lenses and together with the efforts of other generic lens manufacturers have collapsed the price of lenses from over US$300 in 1992 to around US$6 today. As a result, cataract surgery is now available to the poorest of the poor around the world.

Acuset, IV flow controller

The Acuset is a small device designed to control the flow of drugs through an intravenous drip.

Unlike roller-clamp device still commonly used in the developing world, the Acuset is intuitive to use, even by untrained operators. It allows fine control and precision of flow rates, eliminating the accidental harm, and in some cases death, caused by incorrect drug doses.^[1]

In 2008 the Acuset was nominated as a finalist in the Saatchi & Saatchi World Changing Ideas Awards.^[2]

Infant nutrition

Medicine Mondiale is developing a range of nutritional productions for the treatment of dehydration and protein-energy malnutrition.^[3] These are designed to combat acute diarrhoea, which is the leading cause of death in infants under two years of age in the developing world. ^[4]

The same technology will be used in a range of products targeted at endurance athletes in the developed world.

These products will be manufactured in Nepal.

Liferaft infant incubator

The Liferaft infant incubator is a low cost but high end incubator currently in development from Medicine Mondiale. ^[5] The incubator is fundamentally designed around performance, ease of use and simple maintenance in challenging conditions, such as in poorly resourced healthcare facilities with inconsistent power and water supplies.

Much of the incubator's features have been designed in response to shortcomings in many current incubator designs, which are not always effective or practical in challenging conditions.

By combining an innovative new microbial filtration system, as well as robust electronics and mechanisms, Medicine Mondiale intend for the Liferaft infant incubator to be a 'plug and play' solution for neo natal healthcare facilities, requiring little or no maintenance.^[6]

In order to get future designers and scientists thinking about the problem at hand, Medicine Mondiale encouraged product design students from AUT University to enter a design contest challenging students to find an innovatice solution for the Incubator's humidification system. ^[7]

Ray Avery

Ray Avery (known in the third-world countries he works in as "Mr. Ray") was born in England.

He had a difficult childhood, spending time in various orphanages and foster homes and even lived for a period on the streets of London.^[8]

However, he overcame that to become a successful scientist and businessman, working for a large multi-national drug company Douglas Pharmaceuticals.

After moving to New Zealand, a chance meeting with world-renowned eye surgeon Fred Hollows led to him working in Eritrea and Nepal to build lens factories for the Fred Hollows Foundation. Exposure to the shortcomings of healthcare in these regions made him determined to use his knowledge and skills to tackle the issues at a practical level.

From his garage laboratory in Mt Eden, Auckland, New Zealand, Avery now manages a global network of experts to work on specific projects, many of whom donate their time and knowledge for free.

References

External links

• Medicine Mondiale Website
• Poor fortune, Idealog Magazine, Nov 2007
• New Zealand man aids millions with 15c water drip invention, New Zealand Herald, Dec 01 2004
• Hugh Green Foundation
• NZ Doctor Jul 19 2010
• Maternova Jan 11, 2013