What Does it Take to be a Global Citizen? Dr. Thomas Burke Has an Answer

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Photos by Rob Skinner

On October 28, 2022, Commonwealth Honors College hosted “Innovating for Global Health Transformation”, a lecture by Thomas Burke MD ’84, FACEP, FRSM, the 2022 recipient of the UMass Alumni Honors Distinguished Leader Award. This honor is bestowed upon alumni who have made meaningful and significant strides forward in their chosen sectors, and who have received recognition for their contributions. Dr. Burke has made monumental advancements in the fields of medicine, technology, and global health.

Mission: To develop and accelerate innovative, appropriate, affordable, high-quality solutions to intractable health challenges

Dr. Burke began his lecture with a detailed description of his overall mission statement when approaching global health initiatives. His focus is dedicated to finding solutions to the problems facing our global health community. Through work with local leaders and the understanding that our world is driven by money, Dr. Burke and his team have created solutions to three of the most pressing issues facing global infant and maternal health: postpartum hemorrhage, obstructed labor, and respiratory infections among infants.

Saving Mothers' Lives

Burke explained that after a person gives birth, the uterus goes through a series of contractions to bring itself back to its original size and stop blood flow. However, sometimes the uterus is not able to contract enough — which can cause serious internal bleeding, or postpartum hemorrhage. There is an intrauterine device called a uterine balloon that inflates and puts enough pressure on the inner uterus to stop the bleeding, but these devices can cost upwards of $400 USD a piece. In developing countries, this cost simply makes these devices inaccessible for the people who need them. Dr. Burke and his team recognized this problem and developed a model using a catheter and condom. These intrauterine devices only cost $4 USD and are now accessible around the world. The manufacturing of these devices takes place in the countries who need them most, thus contributing to economic development in those places. By using accessible and affordable materials, Dr. Burke found a creative solution to the global health problem of postpartum hemorrhage.

Creative Solutions

Another aspect of Dr. Burke’s work addresses challenges related to obstructed labor — which refers to what most people know as a Cesarean section, or C-section. The most common barrier for patients needing this surgery is a lack of access to anesthesia. Dr. Burke recognized that the solution to this problem would be to create access to the necessary surgical anesthesia. It would be impractical to dedicate this next initiative to training more anesthesiologists, as this is a time consuming and costly process. Instead, through research on chemistry and alternatives to anesthesia, Dr. Burke proposed a new solution using ESM-Ketamine. Ketamine, although sometimes used recreationally, has the potential for significant medical use because of its low cost and dissociative properties — a trance-like state providing pain relief, sedation, and amnesia. This drug also strengthens the heart rate and does not impact the ability to breathe — making it a strong and safe anesthetic. Instead of waiting for the next wave of anesthesiologists to be trained and deployed to resource depleted countries, this new method can be easily sold to these countries along with training programs to make access to surgery accessible.

Helping Infants Breathe

Finally, one of the most destructive problems facing infant health is the access to oxygen. Over 120 million children under a year old suffer respiratory illness that could have been improved if they had access to oxygen. These children already had low oxygen levels due to infection, so the lack of delivered oxygen can be detrimental to their health. Dr. Burke did research on why this challenge exists, and he realized that it is because of the delivery method. Typical breathing devices for infants can cost upwards of $12,000, which is just not practical for global health initiatives. Dr. Burke and his team created new oxygen delivery systems that can adjust the amount of oxygen delivered for the specific patient. In addition to this, they created reusable filters that are not only cost effective but are also environmentally friendly — as they are not single use. This is a massive stride forward in the field of infant health, and the accessibility of life-saving devices.

Through dedication, research, and building strong local partnerships, Dr. Thomas Burke has managed to find transformational solutions to global health challenges in the field of infant and maternal health. The work of this UMass Distinguished Leader has managed to honor an essential human right — freedom from unsafe birth.