Tools To Save Infants: On the market
Sturdy lower-cost system for respiratory distress
The "Breath of Life" CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine is used to treat newborn respiratory distress syndrome, asphyxia, apnea and pathologic conditions. It was developed and is produced in Vietnam. All parts are 100% reusable after disinfection. The machine is very robust, reliable and simple to use, with a very user-friendly interface and has its own low-noise air pump allowing use in a hospital without good availability of medical air.
Breath of Life infant warmer
At a fraction of the cost of Western models (1300 USD), this warmer is used for infant resuscitation and the protection from hypothermia. It works in very rough conditions including unstable electric supply and substandard maintenance and technical assistance. The warmer has a “safe mode capability”: if warming sensors fall off the infant during treatment, the software automatically switches the power into a “safe mode.” 250 warmers are in use treating 20,000 newborns each year.
Breath of Life phototherapy
This LED Phototherapy machine cheaply treats pathological jaundice in newborns. The machine is designed and produced in Vietnam and has no disposable parts. LED lights last 5+ years and are very intense and overall cost($1000USD) is a fraction of Western models. Currently, more than 200 “Breath of Life” LED phototherapy are in use in 80 hospitals in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and East Timor, in every level of care from national hospitals to district level facilities, treating more than 5,000 newborns every year.
Stick-on temperature indicator
This stick-on temperature gauge is the very first low cost simple hypothermia device. The fading smile on this LCD (liquid crystal display) ThermoSpot temperature indicator could save babies from hypothermia, a leading cause of neonatal death. The smile is seen on a disc stuck onto the skin which monitors temperature and stays green if the baby has a healthy temperature of between 36.5ºC (97.7ºF) to 37.5ºC (99.5ºF). If the baby's temperature drops, the smile disappears and the spot turns black. The simple device can stay in place for up to ten days.
Plumpy'nut®
The product Plumpy'nut® is designed for the treatment of severe malnutrition. This ready-to-use therapeutic Food has a nutritional value similar to F100 therapeutic milk. This product is available in the field® packaged in sachets or in 92 g cups. Due to the success of RUTF for the home management of severe malnutrition, Nutriset has wished to ensure sustainable availability of the plumpy range in user countries, without having to rely on the supply by one producer only (Nutriset). To date, plumpy products are the only RUTF that can be produced locally.
Sprinkles
Sprinkles are sachets (like small packets of sugar) containing a blend of micronutrients in powder form that are easily sprinkled onto foods prepared in the home. Any homemade food can be instantly fortified by adding Sprinkles. Coating of the iron prevents changes to the taste, colour or texture of the food to which Sprinkles are added. Sprinkles were developed by the Sprinkles Global Health Initiative to prevent and treat micronutrient deficiencies among young children and other vulnerable groups at risk.
Bracelet of Life
This simple bracelet designed by Médecins Sans Frontières is also called a MUAC for mid-upper arm circumference. Red means a child is severely malnourished and orange means that a child is moderately malnourished and green denotes adequate nourishment.
Nevirapine pouch
Nevirapine is an antiretroviral that reduces risk of transmission of HIV from mother to child. In many settings where women deliver at home, having the syrup on hand at the time of delivery is a challenge. Building upon their Kenyan field staff's innovative approach to sending mothers home with a dose of nevirapine, Path developed a foil storage/carring pouch. Health workers send home a single dose of nevirapine in the self-sealing pouch that includes instructions. This innovation allows women in remote locations to stock the nevirapine for up to 2 months in advance.
Neonatal resuscitators
One third of the 4 million annual neonatal deaths occur because infants enter the world unable to breathe on their own . While neonatal resuscitators have been around for a long time, they are underused in developing countries. The non-profit Path first researched this issue and published a guide to obtaining low-cost and durable resuscitators and is now working with manufacturers to bring these products to the market. There are over a dozen neonatal resuscitators available for less than 30 USD.
Simple dried blood spot (DBS)
This simple dried blood spot (DBS) is a way to diagnose HIV in infants in low-resource settings. The standard method of PCR tests requires expensive equipment while the DBS uses a simple filter paper which can be stored and transported to a lab. Pathfinder Intl is using this method in PMTCT clinics in Kenya with strong results.
BIRTHweigh Scale
The BIRTHweigh III scale developed by PATH allows a non-literate community health worker or birth attendant to weigh a newborn using a simple handheld method. The design of this sling-based scale uses color to demarcate low birthweight (LBW) from normal (<2000 g, 2000–2499 g, and >=2500 g), a critical factor in ensuring survival and proper treatment of newborns. In addition to color, the scale uses 3 tactile system for low-light situations. Path notes that each level of birthweigh corresponds to a specific dose of gentamicin for bacterial infection.