PROJECT LIFE RAFT

DESIGNING A LOWER COST INFANT INCUBATOR

Project Goal:

The goal of this project is to develop a

functioning prototype of a low-cost

incubator and isolation unit for infant care

in developing countries, in collaboration

with our project client Medicine Mondiale

and the Kanti Children‟s Hospital in Nepal.

The goal of this trip was to further the research done in

January. Student teams had the opportunity to go

deeper, in context.

We‟re nearing the end of our observation phase…

This trip‟s research will frame our next steps, guiding our

brainstorms, prototyping, and finally our decisions for product

features and functions.

Goal of this visit

Who We Met:

We spoke with many stakeholders to understand needs and be inspired. We interviewed in context, for extended amounts of time. We visited 6 hospitals, meeting with directors, doctors, nurses, parents, and technicians.

Insights + Opportunities

What we learned

Insight: Confusing incubators cost hospitals

Insight: Confusing incubators cost hospitals

A district hospital has 5 incubators, but does not use any of them because

the staff is afraid and confused by technology.

Dhulikel Hospital nurse could not use built-in alarms because she can not

read the German instructions.

Scheer Hospital nurse did not use the humidity function controls because it

was confusing to her.

Maternity hospital experience with extensive maintenance needs of certain

incubators cost the hospital money instead of enabling care.

Insight: Difficult to maintain incubators

disables the NICU

Insight: Difficult to maintain incubators

disables the NICU

Repair times are often excessive. At Teaching Hospital an incubator was

broken for one year until the biomedical engineer could travel to Delhi

for a 50 rupee part.

Several hospitals have no set budget for maintenance, and accessing

any funds is time consuming.

Complicated designs hinder maintenance for less experienced

biomedical engineers and may require unavailable tools.

Insight: Shortcomings offer opportunity

for improvement in functionality

Insight: Shortcomings offer opportunity

for improvement in functionality

Lack of appropriate sensors

Teaching Hospital NICU‟s do not have the ability to monitor apnea

(leading cause of incubator death)

Need for multi-dimensional portability

Premature baby in Dhulikel was carried outside from delivery room to NICU in

winter

Babies can die in transit to Kanti for a referral, wrapped in blankets--they could

be saved with access to a transportable incubator.

Lack of accommodation for basic procedures

Most hospitals could not weigh babies inside the incubator; at Scheer this meant

premature babies were removed from incubators, and at Dhulikel babies went

un-weighed for days at a time.

Insight: Donated incubators often present difficulties

Insight: Donated incubators often present difficulties

Antiquated temperature probe frequently detaches from skin in Kanti

NICU, which can lead to overheating babies.

Frequent maintenance problems and general unreliability with „Indian

Incubator‟ has caused Maternity Hospital to blacklist similar products.

Donated incubators often arrive at Teaching Hospital without manuals

or parts.

Insight: Rural clinics present unique

needs and constraints

Insight: Rural clinics present unique

needs and constraints

Dr. Sikarmi referred a premature baby for incubator treatment.

Without a local incubator the child died 14 days later.

“We need to manage locally”; with no local biomedical engineers,

Dr. Sikarmi is responsible for all repairs. He has little access to

parts, tools and information.

80% of births in Chautara vicinity take place at home. Premature

babies sometimes die before reaching the clinic.

From these observations we began to

understand the most critical user needs,

and develop an understanding of ideal

traits that we call design principles…

Looks Sexy: Communicates Quality / Status

Keeps Baby in Incubator as much as possible

Has Flexible Levels of Access

Portable

Easy to learn / Hard to screw up

Facilitates Easy Maintenance

Accommodates erratic/varied power sources

Provides Reliable Climate Regulation

Design Principles

Affordable

The Journey of Care

Birth Weigh/Clean Diagnosis

Feeding

Check Vital SignsAdminister Medication

Change Diaper

Phototherapy

Take X-RayClean Incubator

Weigh

Surgery

INCUBATOR

Discharge

Going home!

The Journey of Care

Birth Weigh/Clean Diagnosis

Feeding

Administer Medication

Change Diaper

Take X-RayClean Incubator

Weigh

Surgery

INCUBATOR CORE

FUNCTIONS:

Maintain Heat, Isolation,

Hydration, etc.

Check Vital Signs

Discharge

Phototherapy

The field team will share what they have learned with

our home teams. Additional synthesis, brainstorming,

and prototyping sessions will take place over then next

10 weeks.

Next Steps:

Also, we have identified many technical questions to be

answered through medical literature.

Just to name a few…

How accurate does it need to be for temperature measurement?

What‟s the complete range for temperature that you‟d want?

What‟s the best location for the temperature probe?

What‟s the best level of humidity? How does that change as the baby

develops?

Research apnea monitors.

Next Steps:

Thank you