Still working to recover. Please don't edit quite yet.
Neonatal incubation
This article contains content from Wikipedia. It was nominated for deletion on Wikipedia
An incubator (or open warmer or isolette[1]) is an apparatus used to maintain environmental conditions suitable for a Wikipedia:neonate (newborn baby). It is used in Wikipedia:preterm births or for some ill full-term babies.
Possible functions of a neonatal incubator are:
- Oxygenation, through Wikipedia:oxygen supplementation by head hood or nasal cannula, or even Wikipedia:continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or Wikipedia:mechanical ventilation. Wikipedia:Infant respiratory distress syndrome is the leading cause of death in preterm infants,[2] and the main treatments are CPAP, in addition to administering Wikipedia:surfactant and stabilizing the Wikipedia:blood sugar, Wikipedia:blood salts, and Wikipedia:blood pressure.
- Observation: Modern neonatal intensive care involves sophisticated measurement of temperature, respiration, cardiac function, oxygenation, and brain activity.
- Protection from cold temperature, infection, noise, drafts and excess handling:[3] Incubators may be described as Wikipedia:bassinets enclosed in plastic, with climate control equipment designed to keep them warm and limit their exposure to germs.
- Provision of nutrition, through intravenous catheter or NG tube.
- Administration of medications.
- Maintaining Wikipedia:fluid balance by providing fluid and keeping a high Wikipedia:air humidity to prevent too great a loss from skin and respiratory evaporation.[4]
A transport incubator is an incubator and the most necessary neonatal instruments in a transportable format, and is used when a sick or premature baby is moved, e.g., from one hospital to another, as from a Wikipedia:community hospital to a larger medical facility with a proper Wikipedia:neonatal intensive care unit. It usually has a miniature ventilator, Wikipedia:cardio-respiratory monitor, IV pump, Wikipedia:pulse oximeter, and oxygen supply built into its frame.[3]
Low cost incubators (warmers)[edit]
Low-cost infant warmers, designed for use in lieu of neonatal incubators, are an innovative technology that will help families save their children, and governments work towards the U.N. millennium development goals of reducing of infant mortality by two-thirds by 2015.
The incidence of premature birth is roughly similar across divides of First World, New World and Third World (developing) countries,[5] but access to Wikipedia:Neonatal intensive-care units most certainly are not as equally distributed, even amongst those populations. 20 million low birth weight babies are born every year; many can be aided with low cost infant warmers. Traditional incubators cost up to $20,000 USD; warmers cost on average less than 1% of that. Warmers work at the lowest rungs of the healthcare infrastructure.
Development[edit]
The concept of the incubator came from a class called Entrepreneurial Design For Extreme Affordability.[6] The cost of the Embrace incubator is less than one percent of the traditional designs, and rather than isolate the newborn, its design encourages physical contact. It uses Wikipedia:Phase Change Material (PCM) in a sleeping bag design to maintain temperature entirely without electricity, making it well-suited to rural areas. The device can periodically be supplied heat with hot water[7]
At the Wikipedia:Echoing Green competition in 2008, the fellowship award was won by the Embrace development team[8] [9] Embrace won the 2007-2008 Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students Social E-Challenge competition grand prize. Embrace is supported by the Packard, Mulago, and Lemelson Foundations.
Press[edit]
- National Geographic - "Big Ideas, Little Packages", an article in Oprah Magazine, and a seven minute feature on ABC's new Global Health Series 20/20 "Be the Change: Save a Life" - November issue
- UK's SkyNews, a visit to Embrace's India operations
- San Francisco Chronicle feature of Embrace in November 2010: "Embrace may keep babies warm - and alive."
- Huffington Post: "Investing in Women and Girls: A focus on health, Advocacy and Innovation" May 2010
External links[edit]
|
Citations[edit]
- ↑ Merriam-Webster dictionary --> isolette retrieved on September 2, 2009
- ↑ Rodriguez RJ, Martin RJ, and Fanaroff, AA. Respiratory distress syndrome and its management. Fanaroff and Martin (eds.) Neonatal-perinatal medicine: Diseases of the fetus and infant; 7th ed. (2002):1001-1011. St. Louis: Mosby.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 neonatology.org --> Equipment in the NICU Created 1/25/2002 / Last modified 6/9/2002. Retrieved on September 2, 2009
- ↑ Humidity control tool for neonatal incubator 1998: Abdiche M; Farges G; Delanaud S; Bach V; Villon P; Libert J P, Medical & biological engineering & computing 1998;36(2):241-5.
- ↑ As weight is easier to determine than gestational age, the World Health Organization tracks rates of low birth weight (< 2,500 grams), which occurred in 16.5 percent of births in less developed regions in 2000. Data and statistics. World Health Organisation. It is estimated that one-third of these low birth weight deliveries are due to preterm delivery. Weight generally correlates to gestational age, however, infants may be underweight for other reasons than a preterm delivery. Compare with 5% for developed nations
- ↑ Entrepreneurial Design For Extreme Affordability. (HTML) Standford Institute of Design. URL accessed on 2008-09-14.
- ↑ Sibley, Lisa (2008-04-18). "Stanford startup's $25 'sleeping bag' could save newborns" (HTML). http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/04/21/story10.html?b=1208750400^1622061&surround=etf. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
</li>
- ↑ ThinkChange India: Extreme Affordability. (HTML) URL accessed on 2008-09-14.
- ↑ Jane Chen and Rahul Panicker. (HTML) URL accessed on 2008-09-14.
</ol>
