Submission + - Scientists Build Neonatal Incubator from Car Parts
Peace Corps Online writes: "Madeline Drexler reported an interesting story earlier this month in the NY Times about a group of scientists who have built a neonatal incubator out of automobile parts including a pair of headlights as a heat source, a car door alarm to signal emergencies, and an auto air filter and fan to provide climate control. The creators of the car parts incubator — a project being promoted by the Global Health Initiative at the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology say an incubator found in neonatal intensive care units in the United States costs about $40,000 or more, but the incubator that they have developed can be built for less than $1,000. One expert says as many as 1.8 million infants might be spared every year if they could spend just a week in the units, which help babies who are born early or at low birth weights regulate their body temperature until their organs fully develop. "It's so frustrating to see these preventable deaths," says Dr. Kristian Olson. "They won't name babies in Aceh, Indonesia, until they're two months old. It's a cultural adaptation to expect a death." Experts say in developing countries where infant mortality is most common, high-tech machines donated by richer nations often conk out when the electricity fizzles or is restricted to conserve power. "The future medical technologists in the developing world," says Robert Malkin, director of Engineering World Health, "are the current car mechanics, HVAC repairmen, bicycle shop repairmen. There is no other good source of technology-savvy individuals to take up the future of medical device repair and maintenance.""
