Transforming Health

Meet 2019 NIHF Inductee Rebecca Richards-Kortum!

We are honored to have Rebecca Richards-Kortum join the National Inventors Hall of Fame^® (NIHF).

The Invention

Rebecca Richards-Kortum has made a worldwide impact by inventing low-cost, high performance medical devices for low-resource settings.

Often, in low-resource communities, like those in Malawi or El Salvador, standard medical equipment is not able to function properly due to incorrect voltage conversions, dust and limited electrical power.

From a battery-powered cancer imaging system to a syringe that allows accurate dosing of children’s liquid medicine, Rebecca’s inventions have a direct and positive impact on the lives of those living in low-resource settings.    

The Inventor

Before joining Rice University in 2005, Rebecca was employed at the University of Texas at Austin, where she developed technology for oral, esophageal and cervical cancer detection.

Inspired by a trip to Malawi, where she saw firsthand the under-equipped neonatal wards and premature babies dying due to the lack of infrastructure and equipment, Richards-Kortum went back to the lab in search of solutions. 

“When we think about gauging the appropriateness of a technology, from our perspective, there is no substitute for spending time in the field early and often,” she said.

With the help of undergraduate and graduate students at the Rice 360º Institute for Global Health, Rebecca was able to develop low-cost, low-power devices that.  addressed what she saw on the trip to Malawi and ultimately, saved lives

The team’s successes include the Pumani CPAP system for newborns with breathing problems; BiliSpec, a tool that detects jaundice; and DoseRight for accurate dosing of children’s liquid medication.

“Invention is very much a team sport. I feel so fortunate and grateful to have been a part of so many different teams of inventors,” Richards-Kortum said.

Richards-Kortum’s early experience with mentorship provided her with useful insight on how to take a team focused approach to her work, develop the next generation of innovators and approach problems from a different perspective.

She and her students often work with researchers, doctors, nurses and other hospital staff to address problems they face in their everyday research.

The Impact

With her low-cost medical devices, Richards-Kortum has helped save lives in developing countries, and she continues to positively influence the outlook of global health initiatives. Currently, she is the director of the Rice 360º Institute for Global Health  and has been awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, a Lemelson-MIT Award for Global Innovation, and the American Society for Engineering Education Chester F. Carlson Award.

Richards-Kortum will join the ranks of other global innovators in the National Inventors Hall of Fame during the 2019 Induction Ceremony on May 2.