Solutions on display at news conference and panelists to demonstrate how life-saving care is possible through inexpensive means

WASHINGTON, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- A $25 "sleeping bag" incubator, a low-cost wheel chair made from repurposed bicycle parts and mobile phone games for AIDS/HIV education will be among the 40+ innovations on display at the Extremely Affordable Health Innovations exhibit and press conference, Wednesday, April 15, 12:30 p.m. at the World Health Care Congress in Washington D.C. Over 40 innovative organizations from around the world will demonstrate and discuss the technologies and processes that are dramatically improving healthcare delivery in the developing world and can be applied to improving health care in the United States.

For example, the $25 Embrace Infant Warmer uses a phase change material in a sleeping bag design to regulate a baby's temperature. Traditional incubators in the U.S. cost up to $20,000. With no power needs or moving parts, the portable warmer is intended to help address the plight of millions of low-birth-weight and premature babies born each year in developing nations.

The exhibit at the April 14-16 World Health Care Congress will feature as a press conference on April 15 with Philip Musgrove, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Health Affairs Scott Hillstrom, CEO, HealthStore Foundation; Frank Rijsberman, CEO, Google.org to discuss the extremely affordable health solutions project. Most of the projects such as the incubator and wheelchair are in the developmental stages and shed insight into how life-saving care is possible through surprisingly inexpensive means, while others such as the Aravind Eye Hospitals in India and CFWShops in Kenya have proven that low-cost, high-quality health delivery can be a sustainable business in low-resource settings.

WHAT: The "Extremely Affordable Health Innovations" Poster Session Press Conference

WHEN: Wednesday, April 15, 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: The 6th Annual World Health Care Congress, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Executive Networking Lounge

WHO: More than 40 companies from around the globe leading extremely affordable health solutions join press conference panelists; Philip Musgrove, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Health Affairs Scott Hillstrom, CEO, HealthStore Foundation; Frank Rijsberman, CEO, Google.org;

Among the 40 other innovations featured at the poster session:

-- Distance Diagnostics -- Low-cost USB-based ultrasound probes that attach to a PC or mobile cell phones for remote diagnostic imaging

-- "Car Part" Incubator -- A fully functioning incubator made of spare car parts readily available throughout the world.

-- Mobile Famine Monitors -- mobile phone-based famine warning system

-- Health Education Games -- cell phone games for HIV/AIDS education

Click below for a complete list of innovations

http://www.worldcongress.com/events/HR09000/posters_list.cfm

About the press conference panelists

Philip Musgrove, a health economist since 1982, is a Deputy Editor of Health Affairs, a premier health policy journal that has recently begun publishing substantial material about health issues in low- and middle-income countries. Before joining the journal he was an editor of the Disease Control Priorities Project.

Scott Hillstrom is founder and chairman of The HealthStore Foundation which applies business franchise methods to the distribution of essential drugs and basic healthcare services to Africa's poor. HealthStore presently operates a network of 85 nurse-run medical clinics under its CFW brand in Kenya and Rwanda serving more than 40,000 people per month with plans to grow the network hundreds of clinics over the next few years.

Dr Frank Rijsberman joined Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google Inc., in June 2007, where he is Director Program, responsible for the global public health initiative, Predict and Prevent, among others. Prior to joining Google, Frank was Director General (CEO) of the non-profit research institute International Water Management Institute (www.IWMI.org), with HQ in Sri Lanka.

Who's supporting this effort?

The project is a joint effort by the World Health Care Congress and Grameen Healthcare, a Bangladesh-based organization that aims to extend quality health care to the world's poorest citizens. Grameen Healthcare was founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, a micro-lending organization that serves poor populations. Professor Yunus will be speaking at the World Health Care Congress and will be visiting the poster presentations. For more information, visit:

http://www.worldcongress.com/events/HR09000/posters.cfm?confCode=HR09000.

About the World Health Care Congress

The 6th Annual World Health Care Congress is the most prestigious meeting of chief and senior executives from all sectors of health care. The 2009 conference will convene over 1,700 CEOs, senior executives and government officials from the nation's largest employers, hospitals, health systems, health plans, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and leading government agencies. For more information, visit www.worldhealthcarecongress.com.

About Grameen Healthcare

Grameen Healthcare aims to establish a sustainable health system in Bangladesh that will serve the health needs of all Bangladeshis at low cost and high quality. Grameen Healthcare will design low-cost, affordable health services for millions of the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh, especially women and children, and sustain these services thru social business. In addition to existing social business partnerships with Danone and Veolia, Grameen Health has recently announced partnerships with Pfizer, GE Healthcare, and Mayo Clinic. Grameen Healthcare continues to gather more new and innovative partners committed to harness best practices to build sustainable business models that can meet the unmet health needs of the poor in Bangladesh.

    CONTACT: Shadab Mahmud
    Program Manager, Grameen Healthcare Support Group
    617-953-1665
    Shadab.Mahmud@gmail.com

    CONTACT: Patrick Golden
    Director of Communications, World Congress
    781.939.2511 or 978-595-6003
    Patrick.golden@worldcongress.com

SOURCE World Health Care Congress

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