DtM launches Low-Cost Infant Incubator Project
Design that Matters has partnered with Medicine Mondiale on a new project with the goal of transforming newborn care in developing countries. Worldwide, every year, over four million infants die within a month of birth, as a result of prematurity, low birthweight and infection. At least one million of these deaths could be prevented by providing these infants with an incubator--a clean, warm environment in which to grow stronger. Millions more infants would benefit from incubators in terms of shorter hospital stays and better long-term health outcomes.
Our client, Medicine Mondiale, has challenged DtM to design a prototype incubator that provide the basic functions of temperature control, air filtration and oxygen regulation. Conventional infant incubators developed for western markets can cost over US$20,000; our target cost is roughly US$200.
Since project launch, we have recruited five student teams at MIT, Stanford, the Rhode Island School of Design and Arizona State University. Each team is concentrating on different aspects of the design concept development and market research. In addition, IDEO has committed staff time and resources to product research and mentoring student teams. The initial user research and product testing will take place in Nepal, where Medicine Mondiale has an extensive network of contacts among health care providers and local manufacturers. You can follow the action on this project through the incubator pages on the DtM news blog.
Medicine Mondiale is a New Zealand-based NGO dedicated to making quality medicines and medical technologies available to the poorest of the poor in developing countries.
Bridging the gap: newborns under oxygen hoods at a Nepal intensive care unit (L), and a state-of-the-art Atom V85 infant incubator.
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