Tag: tuberculosis

by Kaila Helm, Biological Basis of Behavior ’20;  Kathleen Givan, Bioengineering and Political Science ’20; Katharine Cocherl, Bioengineering ’20; Hope McMahon, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering ’18; and Dave Pontoriero, Biotechnology MS ’18

David Issadore, a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania teaches an engineering course ENGR566 – Appropriate Point of Care Diagnostics. As part of this course, he and Miriam Wattenberger from CBE, have taken nine Penn students, most of them majoring in Bioengineering, to Kumasi, Ghana, to study the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. While in Ghana, these students are blogging daily on their experiences.

Today was the day we had been anticipating since the start of our trip: Presentation Day! We presented our final projects to a room full of people from KCCR. Scientists and research assistants attended to hear more about the designs we had been working on all semester.

Our presentations were in the afternoon, so we used the morning to work out any last-minute details. Each group presented on its pediatric tuberculosis diagnostic, with each trying to come up with innovative devices that could be implemented in the future. Even more exciting, we had an opportunity to present our more short-term ideas for problems that undergraduate students could address themselves. Our prompt was to create a project idea that could be completed in one year by one to five undergraduates with low funding requirements. The question-and-answer session that followed our presentations provided a wonderful opportunity to be critical of our ideas and contemplate the limitations of our designs, while still posing new questions regarding what could or could not work in our proposed plans for implementation.

After a busy start to our day, we were eager to spend some time relaxing and reflecting on our academic experiences. We were amazed by the progress we made in the construction of our proposals. As engineers and individuals pursuing the STEM field we planned to create technology that could positively impact Ghana. Yet our presentations and the feedback we received were another source of evidence that we must continue to work on the ways in which our devices can be integrated into the Ghana’s current medical system. Nevertheless, we were proud to present all that we learned to such an insightful audience.

After a successful afternoon of presentations, we headed out to dinner to celebrate. We went to the same restaurant we went to two weeks previously. There was live music, dancing, and our new team favorite: grilled tilapia.

by Danielle Tsougarakis, Bioengineering ’20; and Kate Panzer, Bioengineering ’18

David Issadore, a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania teaches an engineering course ENGR566 – Appropriate Point of Care Diagnostics. As part of this course, he and Miriam Wattenberger from CBE, have taken nine Penn students, most of them majoring in Bioengineering, to Kumasi, Ghana, to study the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. While in Ghana, these students are blogging daily on their experiences.

Today, we had our last clinic visit of the trip to Suntreso Government Hospital. We first heard from Nurse Cynthia all about the hospital roles of diagnosing tuberculosis and providing patients with the necessary medication. It was a really great discussion; whenever we had a question, Nurse Cynthia had an answer based on her forty years of experience with TB patients. We visited the Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) Centre of the hospital, where patients can pick up their medication every month and receive more education about their respective conditions. Nurse Cynthia discussed issues surrounding tuberculosis, including stigma about the disease, as well as educating the public on the symptoms and concerns surrounding the disease.

Afterwards, Dr. Thomas came and talked to us about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases in Ghana. He described the prevalence, as well as prominent issues encompassing the diseases. Interestingly, the clinic only provides free condoms for people infected with HIV and not other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Dr. Thomas informed us, however, that despite the availability of condoms, they are often neglected for their intended use. Evidently, it is quite common for Ghanaians to repurpose condoms as fire starters, parasite protectors, and even jewelry. After our engaging discussion, we briefly viewed the STD clinic on site. Then, we headed back to KCCR, enlightened by the creativity of the innovative mind. We spent the rest of the afternoon refining our final presentations and projects. Then, we headed to bed for a good night’s rest before the big day.

by Kaila Helm, Biological Basis of Behavior ’20;  Kathleen Givan, Bioengineering and Political Science ’20; Katharine Cocherl, Bioengineering ’20; Hope McMahon, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering ’18; and Dave Pontoriero, Biotechnology MS ’18

David Issadore, a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania teaches an engineering course ENGR566 – Appropriate Point of Care Diagnostics. As part of this course, he and Miriam Wattenberger from CBE, have taken nine Penn students, most of them majoring in Bioengineering, to Kumasi, Ghana, to study the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. While in Ghana, these students are blogging daily on their experiences.

We started off today by visiting a disease control center at Manhyia District Hospital. It was interesting to hear how they distribute monthly doses of their TB drugs. Unlike some of the other clinics we have visited, they had not received any pediatric TB as of this year and felt that TB was confined to highly populated communities within their district of 300,000 people. Although HIV is still an urgen issue, it was nice to hear a little bit of good news. We visited their lab, where they process their smear microscopy samples. For any multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB cases, they must refer their patients to KATH, which has better facilities to treat these patients. We then got to talk to the hospital’s only pediatrician in the newly built children’s ward. However, the hospital still experiences space issues that prevent mothers from staying in the same rooms as their newborns and that cause some children to be placed in the adult ward.

After our visit at the hospital, we began an exciting afternoon of activities. The program coordinator Nana Yaa planned a scavenger hunt of 10 items that we had to find in Kumasi’s large market before coming back to campus by tro-tro. We split into four groups and set off into the crowded streets in search of items such as bananas, something black, a picture with a kayayei, an ingredient for dinner, and a few other things We met several people along our journey. The vendors throughout the street were very friendly, wanting to help us find the goods we were looking for. We got to practice our Twi and we made several people laugh as we asked them for bankye kakro, a small fried ball made of cassava.

The team then went back to the guesthouse and shared everything that we purchased. The guys got live crabs for their dinner contribution, so everyone had a good time helping with the preparation. The competition resulted in a four-way tie (we’re all winners!!!) , and we went out to an outdoor barbeque restaurant for our celebration.  Everyone got tilapia and banku, making it one of the best meals of the trip thus far. We then took a scenic tour around Kumasi for a bit and finally met back up at the guesthouse for ice cream and stories.

by Ethan Zhao, Bioengineering ’19; and Jason Grosz, Bioengineering ’19

David Issadore, a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania teaches an engineering course ENGR566 – Appropriate Point of Care Diagnostics. As part of this course, he and Miriam Wattenberger from CBE, have taken nine Penn students, most of them majoring in Bioengineering, to Kumasi, Ghana, to study the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. While in Ghana, these students are blogging daily on their experiences.

Over the course this trip so far, we have been learning about how doctors assess and diagnose patients with tuberculosis in different settings.  Today, we took a look at the system in place to ensure that patients adhere to their medications once the diagnosis occurs.  We visited one of the 11 directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) center at Afrancho Health Center in urban Kumasi.  The facility had about 50 employees and relatively limited resources for treatment other than a maternity ward and a small lab for diagnosing malaria.  Instead, as the name suggests, it directly observes patients taking pills for the first week of treatment.  Afterward, a trusted relative is brought in and educated about the dangers of breaking the regimen, to aid the patient in adherence.  The DOTS center employee then follows up with each of the patients in their own homes at least twice a month to ensure they are adhering to their medication.  We were surprised to learn that the social workers didn’t even consider tuberculosis one of the Top 10 most threatening diseases in the area, which included diseases such as malaria and HIV.  However, this may be a testament to the effectiveness of tuberculosis education and treatment in this area of Kumasi, rather than evidence that tuberculosis isn’t threatening.

After returning from the DOTS center, we spoke to employees of the Kumasi Center for Collaborative Research (KCCR) about concerns we have about our projects. One person we spoke to is a data analyst who collects and analyzes data about the burden, distribution, demographics, etc., of TB across Ghana. We discussed how our idea of a phone application to process cough sound-bytes could contribute to data analysis and collection in the fight against TB. We also spoke to employees familiar with biological sample collection and preparation to help us assess the feasibility of our proposed devices.

by Kaila Helm, Biological Basis of Behavior ’20; Kathleen Givan, Bioengineering and Political Science ’20; Katharine Cocherl, Bioengineering ’20; and Hope McMahon, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering ’18

David Issadore, a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania teaches an engineering course ENGR566 – Appropriate Point of Care Diagnostics. As part of this course, he and Miriam Wattenberger from CBE, have taken nine Penn students, most of them majoring in Bioengineering, to Kumasi, Ghana, to study the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. While in Ghana, these students are blogging daily on their experiences.

Although we were supposed to visit a government hospital today, there was a bit of a mix-up. The person we were supposed to meet with had been sent out on another assignment. But no fear — we rescheduled that part of the saga for Thursday.

Instead of going straight back to KCCR, we headed back to the major market. On the car ride, a few of us wanted what we thought were fried coconut balls. After Nana Yaa flagged down a street vendor from the bus, she demonstrated her cardio fitness as Uncle Ebo kept up with traffic, and she was left behind with the vendor. It turns out our snack was raw coconut served with a side of fried cassava dough balls. We decided they tasted like coconut hash browns and were definitely worth the whirlwind experience. Thanks again, Nana Yaa!

Once at the market we split into two groups. Most of us hadn’t ever been in a more crowded place, between the goods and the people. We took a tro-tro for the first time and the highlight was buying all of the roadside snacks along the way. We got tiger nuts, plantain chips, meat pie (which tasted like pop-tart crust), fish pie, spring rolls with beans, and peanut butter cake (which was actually brittle). The rest of the day was spent working on our academic presentations.

We ended the day by working on a component of our final project: selecting small side projects appropriate to be tackled by Penn undergraduates. The overarching aim is to give back to KCCR and Ghana, as both have given us so much during our stay here. Our professor structured the activity like an elimination tournament, giving us “money” to fund projects. The four projects with the most money at the end of the night survived to the next round, while others were eliminated. Stay tuned to see what we have come up with!

by Danielle Tsougarakis, Bioengineering ’20; and Kate Panzer, Bioengineering ’18

David Issadore, a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania teaches an engineering course ENGR566 – Appropriate Point of Care Diagnostics. As part of this course, he and Miriam Wattenberger from CBE, have taken nine Penn students, most of them majoring in Bioengineering, to Kumasi, Ghana, to study the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. While in Ghana, these students are blogging daily on their experiences.

Without any planned activities for the day, the entire group decided to attend church to gain a better understanding of a Ghanaian Christian service. We ended up going with Uncle Ebo (the driver for KNUST’s School of Public Health, loved by all) to the Church of Christ–Oforikrom. Through joyous singing and colorful garb, we were all able to appreciate the experience regardless of individual religious beliefs.

Once we returned back to KCCR, we cooked breakfast for ourselves, making “toad in a hole” (an egg cooked in the center of a piece of bread) and raving about the delicious local sugar bread, peanut butter, bananas, and pineapple. What a satisfying meal!

After a few hours of enjoying our relaxing Sunday morning, we headed via taxis to the Kumasi City Mall! Here we people-watched and enjoyed the modern ambiance of the bustling stores around us. We even got ice cream from a popular ice cream shop — “Yah!” We made a much-needed run to the grocery store to stock up on our new Ghanaian favorite, Golden Tree chocolate. Afterward, a few students tried a Virtual Reality stand and enjoyed the thrill of a roller coaster from the comfort of their seats in the mall. Later in the evening, the group spent some time working on their academic journals among other projects. After a full day, we finished up the night with a tasty dinner of a popular local noodle dish called indomie.

by Kaila Helm, Biological Basis of Behavior ’20;  Kathleen Givan, Bioengineering and Political Science ’20; Katharine Cocherl, Bioengineering ’20; Hope McMahon, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering ’18; and Dave Pontoriero, Biotechnology MS ’18

David Issadore, a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania teaches an engineering course ENGR566 – Appropriate Point of Care Diagnostics. As part of this course, he and Miriam Wattenberger from CBE, have taken nine Penn students, most of them majoring in Bioengineering, to Kumasi, Ghana, to study the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. While in Ghana, these students are blogging daily on their experiences.

Our day started out early with a trip back to the fetish priestess’s house. Just as we were arriving at her compound, the rainy-season storm drops began to fall. Over breakfast (and for a few more hours after that), we chatted and watched both the rain and a group of small children running in, out, and around the area we were sitting.

After exhausting our entire repertoire of team-bonding games and revisiting the implementation of our medical diagnostic tools with the Ghanaian program coordinator Nana Yaa, we began the serious portion of the day with a jungle tour that focused on the plants used by the priestess. She eased us in, warming us up to her knowledge by taking a strange fruit, banging it authoritatively on the wall, and offering the white flesh inside to us. Suck on the beans, she instructed. Don’t chew them. Later we learned that it was in fact the fruit of the cacao plant — yum. We give it an APOC 2017 official 5-star recommendation.

The rest of the plant tour led us into her enchanted forest of sorts. We loved hearing about how one plant could be used in so many ways. The uses ranged from curing an upset stomach to helping witches fly. She explained to us how she acquired her spiritual powers from a local river deity and how her spiritual “sight” helped her treat her patients. She even elaborated on which leaves to look for if you have a low red blood cell count. After we worked up an appetite hiking through her garden, we took a break for lunch, which consisted of yams and garden egg (eggplant) stew that the priestess herself made. She cooked all of the meals for us, and she was very welcoming to our group, greeting us hospitably.

When we arrived back at KCCR, we spent some time chatting in groups and meeting the newest resident of the guest house, a rising second-year Pitt medical school student. Others tested out the handmade slingshots gifted to them in the village we visited. After visiting one of the Ghanaian students’ dorm room, in what they call their hostels, we arrived back at KCCR to watch an episode of Black Mirror and to make some homemade chocolate-chip cookies — a perfect way to end our most jam-packed day of the trip.

by Ethan Zhao, Bioengineering ’19; and Jason Grosz, Bioengineering ’19

David Issadore, a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania teaches an engineering course ENGR566 – Appropriate Point of Care Diagnostics. As part of this course, he and Miriam Wattenberger from CBE, have taken nine Penn students, most of them majoring in Bioengineering, to Kumasi, Ghana, to study the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. While in Ghana, these students are blogging daily on their experiences.

One of the main objectives of this trip has been to observe the impact of limited resources on the ability of hospitals to treat diseases.  However, today, we left the Western perspective on medicine to take a look at alternative methods of treating disease, visiting an herbalist and a fetish priestess.  Upon entering the herbalist’s compound, we were struck by the size and upkeep of his residence, giving off the impression of wealth.  Interestingly, he claimed that he does not charge for treatment but instead only asks that people pay if the treatment works.

He often quoted the Bible and claimed that he got the gift of “sight” from God— sight that allows him to see the diseases that different plants could be capable of healing.  For example, he explained that, even though grapes are not indigenous to the region, he could see that they would be good for healing cardiac problems, from hypertension to cardiac disease to even cardiac arrest.  Coconuts represented the human head; therefore, the skin of the coconut could heal problems associated with the skin, the shell could heal problems associated with bone, the coconut meat could help to heal the brain, and the water inside could heal problems associated with the blood.  He also claimed that he can cure HIV/AIDS and cancer regardless of how serious the patient’s condition is.

After visiting the herbalist, we visited a fetish priestess. Similar to the herbalist, she had appeared to be extremely wealthy. She had a large house on a large plot of land next to a river and was in the process of developing a hotel/resort for her patients across the road. The priestess treated us extremely nicely, fed us lunch, and let us relax at her resort. We didn’t have time, however, to speak to her about her spiritual beliefs and practices, so we returned to KNUST. We planned to visit her again the next day to discuss her beliefs.

by Kaila Helm, Biological Basis of Behavior ’20; Kathleen Givan, Bioengineering and Political Science ’20; Katharine Cocherl, Bioengineering ’20; Hope McMahon, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering ’18; and Dave Pontoriero, Biotechnology MS ’18

David Issadore, a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania teaches an engineering course ENGR566 – Appropriate Point of Care Diagnostics. As part of this course, he and Miriam Wattenberger from CBE, have taken nine Penn students, most of them majoring in Bioengineering, to Kumasi, Ghana, to study the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. While in Ghana, these students are blogging daily on their experiences.

Today was a day of reflection. To our great sadness, two of our fabulous leaders, Dr. Issadore and Dr. Ocek, left early this morning. We then split into teams to work on our projects for the remainder of the early afternoon. Given our newfound knowledge of the Ghanaian healthcare infrastructure and the standards of care for tuberculosis-related symptoms, our designs were altered to optimize their value. It was interesting to pull up our old classwork from Philly and realize how much it needed to be edited.

Following our intense project meetings, the group shared a lunch of ground nut soup and rice balls, one of our favorites. The advantage of cooking food ourselves is that we can tolerate the spice level and learn how to cook another delicious meal ourselves. We then left to do our community service at the rural high school we visited last week, Achinakrom Senior High School (ACHISS). Each APOC student led a class on a topic of interest to both him- or herself and the class. The focus of these classes spanned mathematics, science, and English. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about the Ghanaian education system and talk to more of the students about their day-to-day lives, while exposing us to the problems faced with both cross-cultural communication and teaching.

After returning home, we enjoyed a relaxing evening. One highlight was trying a traditional Ghanaian snack, mashed fante kenkey, which was prepared by our trip leader, Nana. (We love you Nana!) We ended the night with a group ab workout, a roundtable discussion, and yet another fun-filled team-bonding activity. It was a good day!

by Danielle Tsougarakis, Bioengineering ’20; and Kate Panzer, Bioengineering ’18

David Issadore, a faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania teaches an engineering course ENGR566 – Appropriate Point of Care Diagnostics. As part of this course, he and Miriam Wattenberger from CBE, have taken nine Penn students, most of them majoring in Bioengineering, to Kumasi, Ghana, to study the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis. While in Ghana, these students are blogging daily on their experiences.

Today we had the honor of meeting Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, the current Asante (also spelled Ashanti) king. The Ashanti Region is one of Ghana’s 10 administrative regions and expands across the southern part of the country. Once a large empire, the Ashanti kingdom now serves as a state union. After getting off the bus, we walked through the scenic palm tree-lined palace grounds, observing beautiful peacocks roaming the gardens. We entered the historic Asante museum and toured through generations of leaders, seeing sculptures of past kings, ancient artifacts, sacred Kente cloths, and more. Afterwards, we gathered outside the king’s palace, awaiting his presence. Many guests were dressed in their finest traditional African garb. We donned our vibrantly colored dashikis and other newly acquired traditional clothing. Groups of guests went up to the king and presented him with various gifts. Our group brought some high-quality Coca-Cola and Malta beverages, while other groups garnished him with bottles of wine, spirits, and even a large majestic ram. We all had the opportunity to individually bow to the king and shake his hand.

Following our royal visit to meet the king, we returned to KCCR and attended to our laundry and assignments. Some of us went for a run before dinner and got caught in a torrential downpour. We have come to know that such rapid onset of rain is quite common in Ghana, particularly during the rainy season. Despite the quick change in weather, the rain was cool and refreshing as we ran throughout the expansive campus.

In the evening, we had our own feast fit for royalty at a fancy hotel called the Golden Tulip (shout-out to Dr. Eke for the special connection). The restaurant in the hotel reminded us more of a Western-style arrangement, with a wide variety of international food, including salad, noodles, squid, and fruit, along with American pop music playing lightly in the background. Even dessert was served, including caramel flan, red velvet cake, and cheesecake, which is a rare sight in Ghana.