Does the same technology meet healthcare needs regardless of context or economic environment?
Be part of the conversation
If you are developing, implementing or evaluating healthcare technologies for low‑resource settings — or learning through experience what does not work — we strongly encourage you to submit an abstract and contribute to this important global discussion.
Together, we can help shape healthcare technologies that are not only innovative, but truly appropriate for the contexts where they are most needed.
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) invites abstract submissions for Appropriate Healthcare Technologies for Low‑Resource Settings (AHT 2026) — a virtual event focused on the design, innovation and engineering of healthcare technologies that genuinely work in low‑resource environments.
Why submit an abstract?
Healthcare delivery in low‑resource settings faces complex and interconnected challenges — from fragile infrastructure and limited funding to workforce shortages and political instability. At AHT 2026, we aim to highlight appropriate technological solutions that respond to these realities, rather than replicate models from high‑income settings without adaptation.
We particularly welcome:
- Innovative engineering and design solutions
- Real‑world case studies from the field
- Honest reflections on challenges, limitations, and even failures, which can be just as valuable as success stories in shaping future work
Topics of interest
Abstracts are welcomed on a wide range of topics, including (but not limited to):
- Innovative design of appropriate healthcare technology (AHT) devices
- Digital health, including m‑health and e‑health
- Artificial intelligence and medical informatics
- Medical and clinical laboratory technologies
- Local manufacture of medical and laboratory devices
- Hospital Technology Management (HTM)
- Training and skills development
- Appropriate and ethical equipment donation programmes
- Alternative and sustainable energy sources
- Patient transport solutions for hospitals and health centres
- Linking healthcare facilities in high‑income countries with low‑resource settings
- Oxygen monitoring and supply
- Healthcare technology challenges in conflict or humanitarian settings
Scope of submissions
Abstracts should consider the real‑world conditions faced when delivering healthcare in low‑resource environments. Factors that may negatively impact healthcare provision include:
- Limited financial resources, facilities and infrastructure
- Insufficient or inadequately trained healthcare and technical staff
- Lack of test equipment, manuals, consumables and spare parts
- Inappropriate or unsupported equipment donations
- High proportions of healthcare equipment out of service
- Unreliable power and water supply
- Political instability, conflict or war
The overarching need remains clear: appropriate, affordable, sustainable and quality healthcare technologies, capable of supporting care in both routine and emergency situations.
Submission details and key dates
- Abstract length: Maximum 500 words
- Submission method: Email your abstract to Lynsay Callaghan lcallaghan@theiet.org by 14th August 2026
Review our video content from 2024 and we will publish the content in the same format for 2026
- How the innovative Fit for Purpose Pulm02 10L Oxygen concentrator Addresses the Challenges of Delivering Efficient Oxygen Therapy in Low Resource Settings
- Translation of the LeVe CPAP system to Uganda for local production, maintenance and clinical use
- A journey of technical development: Fit-for-purpose oxygen concentrators for use in low-resource settings
- Enhancing Family Planning Services through Digital Health Education: A Collaborative Initiative between DKT Myanmar and Z-waka
- Enhancing Theta Rhythms in Dementia Rehabilitation Through Virtual Reality: A Machine Learning Approach Inspired by Hippocampal Oscillation Studies
- Evaluation of the applicability of ECG signals synthesized from PPG signals by open-source technologies to the real-world scenario of detecting obstructive sleep apnoea events
Submission details, key dates and terms and conditions apply so please review before applying - (+) IET EngX