Giving new-borns 'air to breathe'

Published: 21^st April 2015

Source: Hewete Haileselassie, BBC News

Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32383608

Science field: Health

Summary

Dr Santorino Data is a paediatrician of Mbarara University, in Uganda. He has come up with a gadget that can help give new-born babies with breathing difficulties the urgent assistance they need. It is called the Augmented Infant Resuscitator, or Air for short.

The Air device in action: a green colour on the computer screen shows it is being used correctly.

Feedback

It is a bit of kit that is attached to a traditional resuscitation bag, and gives real-time feedback about how well the carer is resuscitating the baby.

Inventor Dr Data explains: "If the baby is not breathing you have to get a resuscitation bag to help the baby breathe. When I'm helping the baby breathe correctly, my screen is green and that is telling me my air flow is OK. But now if I cause, for example, a leak to happen, the screen goes red and it tells me there is a leak." That instant notification makes all the difference, since doctors have only a matter of minutes to get a baby breathing again. Such as in Edith's case, when one of her twin babies, Jason, had a breathing problem he received the correct treatment and survived.

The air device, which costs about $20-25 per piece, was conceived with a focus on developing countries but Dr Santorino says that there has been interest from even the wealthiest of hospitals.

Glossary

-          Struggle: to experience difficulty and make a very great effort in order to do something.

-          Feedback: information or statements of opinion about something, such as a new product, that can tell you if it is successful or liked.

-          Gadget: a small device or machine with a particular purpose.

Review

A baby's first breath could easily be taken for granted. But according to the World Health Organization, each year close to a million new-borns die because they struggle to breathe. Most of the new-born deaths occur in developing countries where resuscitation machines are very expensive. Now, with this new machine, Dr Data estimates that it will take five years until the innovation is used in real-life situations, so he could save many lives.

Written by Alba Pazos