In this report BBC reporter Anna Lacey looks into how “the most low-tech methods can produce good medical results” and dwells on how mosquito nets are now being used to repair hernias.
According to the report, an Indian surgeon, Dr. Ravi Tongaonkar, came up with the idea of “using sterilised mosquito mesh as a low-cost substitute for the expensive commercial meshes currently in use.” “His mosquito meshes work out around 4,000 times cheaper than imported mesh and he has used them to fix 591 hernias”, says the report.
And, apparently, they are performing quite well. “The only difference is the polymer used to make them,” says Dr Sanders, “but it makes no difference clinically.”
Apparently, India too is performing quite well as a lead market for frugal innovations….