Nikonian Bar:
Neonatal jaundice or hyperbilirubinemia jaundice is a condition that severely affects many newborns in developing and lesser developed countries. This is a condition in which the levels of bilirubin in the blood spikes up which could lead to hearing loss, brain damage, intellectual disabilities and behavioral problems. Bilirubin is the product formed when old blood cells are broken down in the body. During pregnancy, the bilirubin is removed through the placenta but after birth, the baby has to evolve its own mechanism for bilirubin elimination. It has been found that the dehydration caused in newborns due to large spacing between breast-feedings is an important cause of this jaundice. It has also been found that exposure to blue light with a wavelength of 420-448 nm helps in breaking down bilirubin to biliverdin thus treating neonatal jaundice. It is here that infant phototherapy via Firefly, a part of Design that Matters’ (DnM’s) Newborn Technology Development program, comes into play.
Phototherapy is not something radical and new. But the traditional method of treatment involved treating the baby to 5 hours of phototherapy after which a nurse carried the baby from NICU (neo-natal intensive care unit) to the mother for breast-feeding. An hour or so later, the baby was again carried by the nurse to the NICU for five more hours of phototherapy. This cycle repeated. Nurses were also needed to check on the orientation of the baby so that it always received maximum exposure to the light. This increased the overhead expenses per baby in the rural hospitals and medical centers in poor countries.
Firefly was first introduced to treat jaundiced newborns in Vietnam. It arrives as a single-piece, removable, vacuum-formed bassinet which has its own blue-light source. The light source has been provided above and below that ensures that the newborn receives maximum and effective phototherapy regardless of its orientation. It even penetrates blankets and sheets. The device is so compact and robust that the doctors have no fears of installing it in the mother’s room itself. Thus, the transfer of the infant between the NICU and the mother is reduced. This in turn drastically increases the effectiveness of the treatment. Now, all that the mother has to do is feed the baby, which is by her side, at regular intervals. The periods of non-light are also reduced.
Firefly also ensures that infections are eliminated since it can easily and quickly be disinfected. Also, since only one baby can occupy the Firefly at a time, the possibility of two or three infants being placed for simultaneous treatment ( as it used to happen traditionally) is eliminated. Thus, cross infections also do not occur. The price of the Firefly also, is aptly about one-third that of other phototherapy devices.
The Firefly is a result of the collaboration between Design that Matters (DtM), Vietnamese manufacturer MTTS and the East Meets West Foundation (EMW). It is sure to usher in an era of improved and effective infant care when it comes to neonatal jaundice.
Via: DesignThatMatters
