Project Lead(s): Rahul Panicker
Issue
There are more than 20 million low-birth-weight and premature babies born annually, and hypothermia is a major problem faced by these babies, most of whom are born in developing countries.
The current technological solution for hypothermia uses incubators or radiant warmers. However, these devices are expensive, require a constant supply of electricity, trained personnel and regular maintenance. Moreover, these various options are generally found only in hospitals, creating a gap in home-based care.
Current local solutions, which include hot water bottles, hot coals and light bulbs, can be dangerous.
Solution
The team developed the concept of the Embrace Nest Aqua, a non-electric infant warmer designed to prevent hypothermia.
This was a modification of an initial product, the Embrace Nest, which is a low-cost infant warmer for premature and low-birth-weight babies in developing countries.
The Embrace Nest has three components: an infant-sized sleeping bag, a heater and a pouch of phase change material. The pouch is warmed in the heater (separate from the sleeping bag) and then placed into a compartment of the sleeping bag where it maintains constant temperature of 98°F for 4–6 hours. However, this device requires use of electricity.
The Embrace Nest Aqua does not require electricity, as it uses boiling water to melt the phase change material, and can be easily used by anyone.
In resource-constrained settings, especially with huge power cuts, use of hot water is quite common and the design leverages this, while retaining the phase change material pouch and sleeping bag from the original product.
Embrace Nest Aqua has been placed in three hospitals: Cheluvamba Hospital, Mysore; People Tree Hospitals, Bangalore; and St. Philomena’s Hospital, Bangalore.
Clinically stable, low-birth-weight, hypothermic babies in the mother’s ward were identified by the doctor and recruited for the study.
Outcome
The team successfully developed a prototype of the Embrace Nest Aqua, which costs a fraction of the price of a standard incubator, does not require electricity, is portable, hygienic and reusable, and is meant for homes in rural areas.
This warmer is meant to complement Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC).
A total of 159 Infants have been helped in maintaining normothermia or improved from hypothermia to normothermia, after being placed in the Embrace Nest Aqua.
The project team has provided culturally and linguistically appropriate training at each of the program sites in how to recognize, treat and prevent hypothermia.
They also provided hands-on education to mothers and caregivers on how to care for their low-birth-weight infants, including Kangaroo Mother Care.
The product is currently being sold in India and there are plans to scale up distribution.