Designing for Newborn HealthHanoi, Vietnam

Rachel Gilbert

Whitaker Grantee Enrichment SeminarBudapest, Hungary

28 April 2015

Living in Hanoi

Global health for newborns

1http://www.who.int/pmnch/media/press_materials/fs/fs_newborndealth_illness/en/2http://www.healthynewbornnetwork.org/page/newborn-numbers

• 99% of newborn deaths occur in developing countries1

• 35% of deaths due to complications from preterm births2

Design and manufacture low-cost medical devices for newborns

Distribute MTTS devices to hospitals in Southeast Asia

2,500 doctors and nurses trained

55,000 newborns treated per year

300 hospitals provided with devices for free

Phototherapy blanket: my first project

• Blanket that delivers blue light therapy to treat infants with jaundice

• 80% of pre-term infants develop jaundice1

• Blanket allows for– Parent-infant bonding– Breastfeeding– Parents to take part in improving baby’s

health

1http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16784058

Vietnamese hospitals don’t need phototherapy blankets

• Little emphasis on parent-baby interaction

• Good access to overhead phototherapy lights

St. Paul’s Municipal Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam

• f

Kangaroo Mother Care: Implement in Vietnamese hospitals

CPAP: my new project

I’m incorporating pulse oximetry: monitors baby’s oxygen level to ensure proper treatment

CPAP reduces mortality by keeping premature lungs open

Treats respiratory distress syndrome: affects 50% of preterm infants1

New version for CE Mark1http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/infant-respiratory-distress-syndrome

CPAP: RDS and treatment• Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS):

difficulty breathing due to premature lungs– High mortality rate without treatment

• Keeps airway and alveoli open• Improves oxygen and CO2

exchange• Decreases work of breathing

• bCPAP: Bubble continuous positive airway pressure

• Increases survival by 70%1

• Inexpensive treatment

1Kamath, B.D. et al., Pediatrics (2011) 6:127

CPAP: pulse oximetry• Pulse-ox necessary to ensure that baby

receives adequate oxygen– Low oxygen: asphyxia– High oxygen: eye and lung problems

Red LED IR LED

Photodectector

• Integrating off-the-shelf pulse oximetry module– Circuit board for module to interface with– Program for CPAP to read SpO2 and heart

rate from module– Tests for compliance to standards

CPAP: faulty autoclave

Problem

Troubleshoot

Solution

Designing medical devices to give every

newborn the chance to survive