This course elaborates upon relevant aspects in the conception, implementation and distribution of health devices and systems that effectively meet peoples and societies' needs in a local context. Four key elements of appropriateness (usage, cost, durability and performance) that are integral to the engineering design process are extensively discussed. Applications of point-of-care and mobile health devices to various user groups, such as the elderly or low income communities, are analysed.

The main learning objectives are to

• Evaluate the appropriateness of medical devices to the cultural, financial, environmental, and medical context in which they will be applied
• Design medical devices from a user's perspective for a specific context and health system

The lectures are divided in two parts:

1. The first part elaborates upon the important concepts of the design of health care devices and systems, and discusses implementation and dissemination strategies. We focus on communities such as low income households, the elderly, and patients with chronic illnesses that have special needs. Topics covered include point-of-care diagnostics, information and communication technologies, mobile health, user interactions, and also social-cultural considerations.
2. The second part consists of elaboration of an appropriate device conducted by student groups. Each group will analyse an existing product or solution, critically assess its appropriateness according to the criteria learned in class, and provide explanations as to why the system succeeds or fails. The students will also present design improvements.

• WHO, "Medical Devices: Managing the Mismatch", 2010. www.who.int/publications/i/item/medical-devices-managing-the-mismatch
• PATH, "The IC2030 report. Reimagining Global Health," 2015.
• R. Malkin and K. Von Oldenburg Beer, "Diffusion of novel healthcare technologies to resource poor settings," Annals of Biomedical Engineering, vol. 41, no. 9, pp. 1841:50, 2013. doi.org/10.1007/s10439-013-0750-5