At Helpful Engineering, we believe the tools to combat infectious disease should be open, accessible, and designed by and for the communities who need them most.
That’s why we launched the Infectious Disease Challenge — to develop and deploy practical, open-source technologies that empower frontline health workers and underserved populations to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks.
What We’re Building — With You
With your support, we’re accelerating a new generation of Class I biomedical tools and community health innovations — simple, safe, scalable solutions that can be locally manufactured, adapted, and deployed in low-resource settings. Examples include:
- Privacy – first outbreak alert systems that work in low-connectivity environments
- DIY laboratory and diagnostic tools for local testing and bioscience education
- Low-cost Class I medical devices, including:
- Contactless thermometers
- Fit-testing kits for respirators
- Manual aspirators and simple suction devices
- Pulse oximeters with open-source firmware
- Basic wound-care tools and dispensers
- Locally manufacturable PPE like face shields, reusable masks, and isolation gowns
- Community-driven sanitation solutions, designed from locally sourced parts
- Screening stations and triage support tools, adapted for low-infrastructure health systems
Each project is open-source by default — freely available for anyone to manufacture, adapt, or improve.
Why Your Support Matters
Your donation fuels an end-to-end innovation pipeline — from idea to impact. Here’s what you make possible:
- Prototyping & Testing
We support diverse teams building practical tools for infectious disease prevention and care, with rapid iteration and validation. - Deployment Readiness
Your support helps us pilot these solutions in real-world environments with frontline health workers and communities. - Open-Source Development
Every contribution strengthens our library of vetted, public designs — enabling global adaptation and reuse. - Community-Driven Innovation
We provide mentoring, technical support, and collaboration tools to empower engineers, makers, researchers, and healthcare professionals worldwide.
Your Donation Supports Innovation That Saves Lives
Every dollar goes directly into building and scaling life-saving solutions: design, prototyping, validation, expert review, and community collaboration.
Join the Movement
If you believe health innovation should be open, equitable, and community-powered, this is your chance to help make it real.
👉 Donate now https://opencollective.com/helpful
Let’s build the tools the world needs — together.
