RALEIGH – From drones to 3-D printed contraceptives, innovation and its impact on global health took center stage at the 4th annual Triangle Global Health Conference (TGHC) on Thursday.

Around 300 people from the global health community packed into North Carolina State University’s Talley Student Union for the day-long event, featuring industry experts in biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, NGOs and academia, among others.

“[There were] a lot of different stories of programs and innovative approaches that are taking place across the board,” said Jacob Traverse, the new executive director of Triangle Global Health Consortium (TGHC), which hosted the event.

Jacob Traverse

“When you’re dealing with global health issues, particularly in developing regions, often the challenge isn’t so much [medical technology], but it’s how you integrate these layers of the community and deal with cultural dynamics that may go back generations. There’s always inspiration in these discussions.”

Topping the list: FHI 360’s Chief Science Officer Dr. Timothy Mastro and Dr. Ticora Jones, Director for the Center for Development Research and the Division Chief for the Higher Education Solutions Network within the US Global Development Lab USAID, who both gave keynote lectures.

Panels and workshops also delved into various types of innovation, including global health program innovation, medical technology, mHealth and innovative business models.

Among the biggest takeaways, said Traverse, is the potential for digital technologies to reshape healthcare, both at home and abroad.

“With digital tools today, it’s just a completely different situation in what’s possible,” he said. “There’s this a sort of groundswell – not just of innovation, but also of entrepreneurship, particularly with young people, in how to address [some of these old and really difficult challenges – supply chain, distribution, education and advocacy on the ground].”

Mobile wireless technologies are particularly important. Consider this: In 2015, there were more than 7 billion mobile telephone subscriptions across the world – over 70 percent of which were in low- or middle-income countries.

“It’s the ability in a scalable and affordable way to get to communities that, up until now, have been isolated or difficult to reach due to geography or lack of government infrastructure,” said Traverse.

Another hot topic was the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and how that can help global development projects.

Talking about embedding social innovation, from left: Mary Nambao, Georgia Taylor, Joanna Drazdzewska, Fatima Adamu and Molly Rosett. (Photo by Lisa Garland)

“[It’s] the ability to look at big data sets and identify where innovation is needed, or be able to determine where innovations is working. We’re seeing this across the entire health spectrum. It’s new tools that are scalable, powerful and go beyond what the human mind can do.”

TGHC is a non-profit member organization representing institutions and individuals from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, the international health development NGO community, and academia.

Founded in 2009, it is a partnership between Duke University, North Carolina State University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, IntraHealth International, RTI International, FHI360 and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. Its mission is to improve the health of underserved populations through collaborative research and the implementation of innovative solutions.