BREAKTHROUGH IN NEONATAL TRANSPORT INCUBATOR DESIGN (page 1 of 3)
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In Scotland there are almost 1,000 neonatal transports carried out annually. Many of these infants require maximum intensive care en route. They are commonly extreme preterm neonates, infants with congenital abnormalities or those suffering from perinatal asphyxia or severe infections. The UK is currently undergoing a dramatic revolution in the way neonatal transports are organised.1
Away from the relative safety of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit the infants can come to harm rapidly if deterioration occurs during transports.2 In Scotland, particularly during winter nights, these children can become cold during ambulance journeys, and hypothermia is causally associated with neonatal mortality. The babies can be difficult to monitor because of vibration of equipment3 and such vibration involves the ambulance or aircraft, the incubator, the ventilator and all monitoring devices: pulse oximetry is particularly prone to provide unreliable estimates of oxygenation during transport. Excessive noise can also make monitoring difficult and can be distressing for the baby.4
For decades designers have striven to plan the perfect incubator to maximise the safety of the sick neonate. Designers have a strong imperative to produce a combined incubator and trolley which weighs less than 140kg to fulfill health and safety requirements of staff including paramedics. Until recently the combined weight of the infant, trolley and essential ancillary equipment have weighed around 225kg. In addition incubators should have the approval of the Civil Aviation Authority, and be entirely compatible with the fixation systems of Scottish ambulances and aircraft.
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