Field Stories:
Global Cataract Surgery

In 2024, 2025, and 2026, I’ve had the opportunity to present my work in global cataract surgery innovation to biomedical engineering senior design students at the University of California, San Diego. I developed a series of narrative illustrations based on previous field research and design work to convey the complexities of the cataract surgery ecosystem. [Jump to Illustrations]

Background

  • A cataract is a clouded lens of the eye that has to be replaced with a synthetic lens to restore vision. My team and I developed a low-cost cataract surgical tool that can improve patient outcomes for MSICS, the staple low-cost surgery in low-middle income countries.

  • A story conveys complexity quickly and effectively. Cataract surgery is part of a complex ecosystem that includes patients, the community, healthcare systems like Aravind Eye Care System, healthcare providers, and the government. I wanted students to understand how these systems influence the patient care pathway and affect each other. The story helped students understand the nuance of the problem and the motivation behind our design.

Storyboarding & Illustration Process

① Developed a story revolving three patients in a rural community in South India, interweaving  details from field research, literature, and interviews. The story tracks their process from when they arrive at an eye camp through treatment, and post-surgery recovery. In this process, I sequentially narrated the story of the providers at the eye camp and the surgical team to build the context around the problem. 

 ② Split the story into frames and developed composition of each frame.

 ③  Gathered reference images for the various illustrations and created drafts. 

 ④  Determined the color palette and completed stylistic rendering of the images.

Illustrations

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