Snugly Hugs

If a baby's temperature drops below 95°F (35°C), they're considered to have hypothermia/low body temperature. Hypothermia in babies can lead to death. In lower and middle income countries where malnourishment in expecting mothers is a major problem, babies are often born premature, smaller in size, with a smaller hypothalamus, and hence, cannot regulate body temperature. They have less body fat leading to a higher risk of hypothermia.

As a 13-year-old, I feel every newborn should get a chance to live. I chose to look into this problem as it would save many lives by offering an affordable solution for hypothermia, specifically in rural and economically backward areas as the currently available product costs approximately $330. I hope to make a portable and affordable light weight blanket using waste Styrofoam which can prevent hypothermia in babies, costing less than $20.

I have filed a provisional patent (202041003418) for my invention. 

Globally, an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm (before 37 completed weeks of gestation), and this number is rising.(https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preterm-birth)

2.5 million of these children died in the first month of life in 2018– approximately 7,000 neonatal deaths every day – most of which close to three quarters dying, with one third dying on the first day. (https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/neonatal-mortality/). In India, 3,341,000 babies are born too soon each year and 361,600 children under five die due to direct preterm complications.

Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age, responsible for approximately 1 million deaths in 2015 

Care/Treatment for the premature babies needs them to stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or incubators within the first few hours of birth.

When babies are put in incubators, they are separated from their mothers which results in separation anxiety for the mother and the baby. These incubators require constant electrical supply which is a challenge in rural areas. The incubator facility can be expensive and hence unaffordable to the poor. The access to incubators in rural areas is very limited.

My solution to this problem is an affordable, portable blanket which utilizes waste & commonly available materials and does not require electricity.

Product Design: Blanket construction using Styrofoam

• Clean Styrofoam sheets, normally available as packing material or waste product are used in this blanket. Place the Styrofoam into a rectangular cloth bag. The cloth bag can be zipped. It can be washed/changed as needed.
• A hot water bag made of rubberized material is taken and warm water (around 45oC) is poured into it.
• the water bag is placed into the cloth bag such that it lies in the centre on top of a Styrofoam sheet. The cloth bag is closed. The baby is placed on the warm bag and the rest of the cloth bag is wrapped around the baby. This will keep the blanket warm. Styrofoam being a good insulator, prevents the rapid loss of heat and retains the warm temperature for a longer span of time.
• This blanket when used for a premature newborn baby will help maintain its body temperature at 37 + 2oC and thus prevent hypothermia.                                                            This will help save lives of hypothermic babies, particularly in low income areas.

My solution is intended to be used in rural areas where access to advanced healthcare facilities is limited. It can be used even by the illiterate population as it is easy to use. During the development of the project, I have consulted with gynaecologists and paediatricians to understand the problem and the need for a simple and easily implementable solution. When babies are cold, they use energy and oxygen to generate warmth. If skin temperatures drop by even 1°C from the ideal 97.7° F (36.5°C), the oxygen consumption increases by 10 percent. This is especially important when babies are sick or premature.

The blanket I have designed, once filled with hot water in the temperature range of 45°C – 50°C can maintain a body temperature of 37°C - 39°C for a period of 4-6 hrs. The hot water can be replaced whenever it cools down. Just maintaining the body temperature at 37°C helps in improving the chances of survival drastically.

A snugly wrapped blanket also helps in reducing the separation anxiety which is normally associated with babies kept in an incubator.

My solution provides an easily accessible, cost-effective, portable and life-saving technology which will benefit the remote and underprivileged sections of society. Hence, I believe my solution is aligned with the challenge of helping save the lives of newborn babies.

The solution uses simple items which are easily available at home, such as, cloth, hot water bags, and Styrofoam packaging material. The device is lightweight, portable, does not use electricity, and can be easily deployed.

The main competitor is the product from Embrace Innovations. This product requires the use of wax and a heating unit, which requires electricity.(https://www.embraceinnovations.com/). The cost of this product is around $330, which is far greater than the average monthly income of a family in the rural parts of India, and several other low and middle income countries.

The core technology used in my product is hot water and Styrofoam.

My solution is a low cost alternative to an incubator, which is used in the Neonatal ICUs. This device can provide a lease of life to a premature, low body weight, hypothermic new born baby. There will also be a significant impact on the quality of life and the development of the baby with this simple solution. I believe that such a product will provide a low cost, high impact solution to a problem that plagues the poor across the globe.

Currently, the product is at a prototype stage. I am exploring funding options to improve the product to allow for once a day replacement of the hot water, evaluating other insulating materials, and adding a battery operated thermostat device, which will allow for control of the temperature to within one degree. 

The product has the potential to impact over 15 million premature babies born across the world, in the next 5 years.

The goal for the next year is to complete the product development and launch the product in the market. Over the next 5 years, the plan is to expand to at least 3 continents, which include a majority of the low and middle income countries.

Being a class 9 student, with limited exposure to economics, finance and marketing, I would need mentoring in these areas to make the product available across the globe in a timely and affordable manner. The product development requires infusion of funds which I do not have access to, currently.

I plan to approach and work with mentors and high net-worth individuals/VCs, who can support me to make this product successful.

Three.

My team consists of a Biologist and an Engineer, who understand the problem. Though I am a class 9 student, I have a keen interest in designing products and am part of a tinkering lab in my school. I often work with different, easily available materials to create models. Hence, I believe that the team is suited to develop the product to a marketable stage. The team will need help in identifying global manufacturers and distribution channels.

None.

Work in progress. Will need help.

I plan to raise funds through grants, VCs, HNIs, and awards. 

This product has been selected for the INSPIRE MANAK award 2019, which came with a funding of INR 10000 as a seed grant for the development of the idea.

For grant money and potential partnership and mentoring opportunities.

We will use the money to develop the final product.

The solution is innovative, low cost, easily deployable and can save lives of premature babies in low and middle income countries. Hence, it qualifies for the award which will enable us to complete the development of the product and launch it in the market.

The solution is innovative, low cost, easily deployable and can save lives of premature babies in low and middle income countries. Hence, it qualifies for the award which will enable us to complete the development of the product and launch it in the market.