Open-source medical translation tool for international NGO field work (Project Codex)

Open
Project
Academic experience
140 hours per learner
Learner
Anywhere
Intermediate level

Project scope

Categories
Data modelling Healthcare Social work Software development Databases
Skills
medical terminology ukrainian language naming conventions language barrier localization operations innovation
Details

WHO: Grey-box is a social innovation startup working to bridge the digital gap and accessible educational content in remote areas where the internet and the electricity grid are unreliable.


WHY: Health crises caused by natural or human-made disasters are often met by support from the international community. Too often, the language barrier slows down the efforts to provide medical equipment quickly in the field. As such, variations in naming conventions and local drug brands exacerbate the confusion - as names for pharmaceuticals vary between countries, even if they speak the same language.


HOW: The goal is to provide an accessible and easy-to-use tool (many health professionals on the ground are using WhatsApp) that can be used to translate medical terms and equipment between various languages.

Deliverables

(based on the need of each experience, the following activities and deliverables could be considered)

  • Literature review related to the impact of translation (and localization) issues in the context of medical operations in the field (impact analysis)
  • Identify essential medical databases that the medical database can ingest.
  • Identify key stakeholders that should be consulted for this project.
  • The app should allow to translation medical terms and recognition variations (ex: local brands)
  • The app prototype must be easy to use and accessible on mobile devices.
Mentorship
Domain expertise and knowledge

Providing specialized, in-depth knowledge and general industry insights for a comprehensive understanding.

Skills, knowledge and expertise

Sharing knowledge in specific technical skills, techniques, methodologies required for the project.

Hands-on support

Direct involvement in project tasks, offering guidance, and demonstrating techniques.

Tools and/or resources

Providing access to necessary tools, software, and resources required for project completion.

Regular meetings

Scheduled check-ins to discuss progress, address challenges, and provide feedback.

Supported causes
Good health and well-being

About the company

Company
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2 - 10 employees
Education, Non-profit, philanthropic & civil society, It & computing, Technology, Telecommunications

Grey-box is a social innovation startup. Its main product, Uni, provides wireless access to digital resources (such as Wikipedia, Khan academy, several MOOC-type online courses, medical databases) in areas where access to the internet or to electricity is unreliable.

While 50% of the world's population is not connected - and the COVID-19 situation is exacerbating these inequalities - our team is working on an accessible product (portable, energy efficient, climate resistant and, above all, less than 100 $ the unit) which allows anyone to connect to these essential resources for their development and autonomy.

Grey-box is a nonprofit structured under the principle of mobile-first and remote-first. Diversity is not only encouraged, it is an integral part of the strength of the team and its projects