Name: Jean Sinilong
Course: AB Psychology
Subject: Science Technology and Society
Schedule: TTH – 12:00-1:30 pm
Date: 9/3/24
Filipino Inventors and Their Inventions
1. Dr. Ramon Gustilo
Is one of the country's foremost orthopedic
surgeons. He invented three knee implant
systems and the Axis Knee System. Axis Knee
System, the first and only world-class knee
system developed in Southeast Asia, is
available at half the cost of the usual available
knee systems in the country. The Axis Knee
System was developed with funding support
from Philippine Council for Health Research
and Development (PCHRD)
Was a global expert in the field of
orthopedics, served as a professor at the
University of Minnesota Orthopaedic Surgery Department and was a consultant to the United
States Surgeon General. He is the founder of two important associations for orthopedic care in
the US – the Orthopaedic Trauma Hospital Association (OTHA) and the Orthopaedic Trauma
Association (OTA).
Axis Knee System
Axis Revision Knee System is a revision total
knee replacement (TKR) system designed
based on the Axis Knee System that was
developed by the Orthopaedic International,
Inc. (OII) through the funding support of
DOST-PCHRD. Axis Knee System is the first
world-class knee replacement system
developed in the ASEAN Region. It uses a
Femur Mechanical Axis Finder (FMAF) to
allow surgeons to perform correct implant
alignment by locating the true mechanical axis of the lower extremities.
It is well-suitable for Asian knees, specifically for Filipinos, and is more accessible as it costs 50%
100% less than its competitors worldwide. As of March 2021, 779 Axis Knee Primary surgeries
from all over the Philippines had already been performed. Axis Revision Knee System is the
solution developed to address complications of the primary TKR. It is composed of femoral,
tibial, and patellar components that are made from metal and plastic materials. These high-
quality implants come in a variety of sizes and are manufactured based on the standards of the
American Society of Testings and Materials (ASTM) International. With the support from DOST-
PCHRD, the project team, composed of prominent surgeons and engineers from the Philippines,
was able to simplify the surgical techniques and instrumentation of the Axis Revision Knee
System using internationally-accepted procedures through a comprehensive research done from
2017 to 2019. Aside from the simplicity of the surgical procedures, the implants and the
instruments are also manufactured locally. This significantly reduces the cost of knee revision
arthroplasty making the system more accessible to many Filipinos who need the procedure.
2. Fe Del Mundo
The first Asian woman admitted into
Harvard, she pursued graduate degrees
in America after receiving her medical
degree from the University of the
Philippines. She returned to the
Philippines during World War II, and
established a children's branch of a
Japanese internment camp and
directed the Manila Children's Hospital.
She headed the Department of
Pediatrics at Far Eastern University for
more than two decades and founded
The Children's Medical Center
Foundation in 1957, bringing medical
care to rural Filipino families with no health care, saving children dying of dehydration and
establishing family planning clinics. Del Mundo also established the Institute of Maternal and
Child Health, which trains doctors and nurses.
Del Mundo revolutionized Philippine medicine, making major breakthroughs in immunization
and in the treatment of jaundice, and providing healthcare to thousands of poor families. She is
credited with studies that led to the invention of the Incubator and a jaundice relieving device.
Her methods, like the BRAT diet for curing diarrhea, have spread throughout the world and
saved millions.
Bamboo Incubator
She invented an Incubator made of
bamboo
In a bid to help families in rural
communities without electricity, del
Mundo invented a bamboo incubator in
1941. According to a biographical report
on del Mundo by the Philippine Center for
Investigative Journalism, the physician’s
makeshift incubator was composed of two
native laundry baskets made of bamboo.
Made of different sizes, the baskets were
“placed one inside the other.” She would
then put hot water bottles all around and
between the baskets to regulate the body
temperature of babies. “I put a little hood over it and attached oxygen for the baby,” she said.
“We had to do with whatever was available.”
3. Dr. Abelardo Aguilar
It was in 1949 when a Filipino physician,
Dr. Abelardo B. Aguilar, found something
remarkable in Ilonggo soil. A drug
representative for U.S. pharmaceutical
company Eli Lilly and Company, Aguilar
was studying samples he obtained from a
Molo cemetery (some accounts refer to it
as “his own backyard”) and stumbled
𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢
upon a species of bacteria called
𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘢 (formerly
𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘺𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘶𝘴).
Taking note of the antibacterial activity he
observed, he sent the sample to the
company’s research laboratory. Eli Lilly’s
scientists isolated erythromycin from the
sample, and officially marketed the antibiotic to the public in 1952. They sold it under the names
Ilosone and Ilotycin, acknowledging where the antibiotic came from.
For patients suffering from bacterial infections of the respiratory tract, skin, urinary tract, and
soft tissue—especially those who are allergic to penicillin—erythromycin is a lifesaver.
Erythromycin is a macrolide, a type of antibiotic that stops the growth of (or even kills) bacteria
by inhibiting bacterial protein production. It’s also a testament to Filipino brilliance… and proof
of how corporate interests can trample over the rights of individual thinkers and creators.
Erythromycin
Erythromycin is used to treat certain
infections caused by bacteria, such as
infections of the respiratory tract,
including bronchitis, pneumonia,
Legionnaires' disease (a type of lung
infection), and pertussis (whooping
cough; a serious infection that can
cause severe coughing); diphtheria (a
serious infection in the throat); sexually
transmitted diseases (STD), including
syphilis; and ear, intestine,
gynecological, urinary tract, and skin
infections. It also is used to prevent
recurrent rheumatic fever. Erythromycin is in a class of medications called macrolide antibiotics.
It works by stopping the growth of bacteria. Erythromycin comes as a capsule, tablet, delayed-
release (releases the medication in the intestine to prevent break-down of the medication by
stomach acids) capsule, delayed-release tablet, and an oral suspension (liquid) to take by mouth.
It usually is taken with or without food every 6 hours (four times a day), every 8 hours (three
times a day), or every 12 hours (twice a day).
