2015 HTF Innovation Conference: Common Good

The 4th Annual HTF Innovation Conference— ‘Common Good’ hopes to take a deeper look into health and wellness enhancements for the masses made possible through technology and the framing and implementation of key health policies.

It is estimated 80% of persons in low-resourced settings receive inadequate or no pain-treatment. Etiology is multi-factorial, but includes: poverty, poor health-care systems, international regulation of opioid analgesics, and discriminatory attitudes. The practice of managing acute injuries and procedures without analgesia is in fact so routine and widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa that local healthcare providers commonly refer to emergency department procedure areas as “crying rooms.” New approaches to pain-management are needed. Innovations and  Technology Transfers for Enhanced Affordability (ITTEA) is an organization founded by Congolese/Canadian/American clinicians, engineers and entrepreneurs dedicated to develop pragmatic solutions for healthcare deficits caused by local scarcity or cost. ITTea-team determined that ultrasound regional anesthesia (USRA) was a viable solution and developed programs to demonstrate proof-of-concept, skill-transferability and sustainability.