How to develop accessible, lifesaving technology.
Growing up in Jamaica, he liked taking things apart to understand how they worked, then putting them back together.
Now, as a Western University engineering student, he’s using those long-honed skills to help save lives in developing countries.
His focus has been building technology that can treat jaundice, a common condition in newborns in which the skin turns yellow. Jaundice is caused by a buildup of bilirubin, a yellow pigment produced when red blood cells break down. In newborns, the liver is often not yet mature enough to remove bilirubin efficiently, allowing it to accumulate.
Jaundice is easily treated using light-based technology. But because the equipment is expensive, it’s not readily available in many low- and middle-income countries. And if left untreated, jaundice can lead to neurological damage, hearing loss and even death.
This is where Josh's impact comes to life.
Josh is a member of Western’s Free Appropriate Sustainability Technology (FAST) Research Group. Led by engineering and Ivey Business professor Joshua Pearce, the John M. Thompson Chair in Information Technology and Innovation, FAST brings together scientists and students to develop hardware that promotes sustainability and social change.
When Josh joined the FAST group, the team already had a partnership with Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, where a light therapy box to treat jaundice had been developed at a lower cost than commercially available models.
But more work was needed. Josh took on that challenge, designing the light source and a meter that would measure light intensity to ensure the dose administered to the baby is safe and effective. The technology is now in clinical trials.
For Josh, the work is about sustainability as much as innovation.
As for his next steps, he’s letting his creativity guide him.
“I've decided to stop worrying about what I’ll do next. It's about following your intuition. Put in the work. Strive for excellence and trust the things that are for you will come in time. So far, I've been following that and it seems to be working out pretty well.”
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