CabbagePatch

Infections are the most common skin disease and affect millions of people globally each year. Bacterial skin infections are common in most developing countries (Mahé, Thiam N'Diaye, and Bobin 1997). Generally, these infections arise as primary infections of the skin or as secondary infections of other lesions such as scabies or insect bites.

Skin infections can cause irritation, discomfort, and lead to communicable diseases that cause long-term damage and sometimes death. According to the World Health Organization, People living in a low-income country are far more likely to die of a communicable disease than a noncommunicable disease, with six of the top 10 causes of death in low-income countries being infectious diseases. In one study, 77% of the deaths of surgical patients were related to surgical wound infection (Guideline for prevention of surgical site infection).

The majority of deaths occur in underdeveloped countries due to the main issues with their healthcare system; lack of affordable, accessible, and high-quality infection detection and prevention products.

Infections can be difficult to detect, especially when there is already a lack of access to basic sanitation and medical support. Currently, there is an insufficiency of non-invasive techniques to measure pH in order to detect infections. Additionally, a lack of low-cost infection prevention and detection products is an issue in many underdeveloped countries.

CabbagePatch helps people in underdeveloped nations detect and prevent early infections through colour-changing surgical bandages.

These surgical bandages are made with red cabbage concentrate that changes colour when the pH levels of the skin change, indicating infection. The bandage is initially purple but if the skin becomes infected, the bandage will act as a pH indicator, turning a blue colour.

Possible use cases are to detect infection of a wound, monitor skin after surgery, or monitor the progress of an identified infection.

CabbagePatch is a cost-effective solution that will provide an affordable, accessible, and high-quality option for infection prevention.

Our solution would mainly serve these four groups:

1. People in developing countries

   Due to the simplicity and low cost of our solution, it would be able to be manufactured and distributed on a large scale in developing countries where there is currently a lack of medical support. Our solution will provide a more accessible option for infection detection for areas without accessible hospitals or doctors.

2. People in low-income communities

   Our solution will serve people in low-income communities by providing them with a cheap alternative for detecting infection. We can also serve people in low-income communities by helping them save in the long term by preventing the cost of infection treatment before it even occurs with accurate early detection.

3. People with wounds (minor or severe)

   CabbagePatch can assist people with wounds ranging from paper cuts to deep lacerations. Included in the category are people recovering from surgical procedures where there was an incision made in the skin. It will enable them to monitor their wound more effectively.

4. Doctors

   Lastly, our solution will serve doctors by making the infection diagnosis process more efficient. Doctors will be able to clearly tell whether a wound is infected by the pH indicated by the colour.

Although our team is not based in the communities we wish to serve, we have experience creating innovative solutions in underdeveloped nations. Additionally, we have (and plan to) meet with members of the communities to gather input on how we can make our product as inclusive, and accessible as possible.

We are applying to Solve because we want to make an impact on the world and believe that our product can be successful with the support Solve offers. There are many barriers present when bringing projects into the real world, including different regulations, funding, and adequate resources to turn the ideas into reality. Because of how Solve is able to remove these obstacles and offers incredible opportunities (i.e. partnerships with entrepreneurs and access to amazing workshops) we decided to enter CabbagePatch and apply. Ultimately, the goal is to reduce infection complications in underdeveloped nations, and we feel that with the help of Solve, we can advance our solution and allow it to serve the people who need it.

Our solutions social business model canvas can be found HERE.