(I-331) Smart Bili-wrapper: A Low-cost Phototherapy Device designed for Low Resource Settings (LRS)

Introduction:: Phototherapy is the use of visible light to treat neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, often known as jaundice. It is the golden therapeutic intervention used for the treatment of hyperbilirubinemia (Vreman et al., 2004). Jaundice occurs when a newborn's body is unable to break down bilirubin. Neonatal jaundice is a common condition that is present in 60% of term babies and up to 80% of premature babies where the majority of these infants are from developing countries with limited access to expensive phototherapy treatment (Brits et al., 2018). If not appropriately deployed, phototherapy can lead to fatal consequences including death (Xiong et al., 2011).
A Bili-blanket is a portable phototherapy device that is used to treat hyperbilirubinemia. This work sought to design and fabricate a locally made low-cost smart Bili-blanket, capable of monitoring and regulating the body temperature of the neonate and reporting in real-time. The device is called Smart Bili-wrapper and it incorporates an alert system that prompts a caregiver if the temperature of the baby exceeds a set threshold value.

Materials and Methods:: This design in this work is made up of three parts: (1) an illuminator, (2) a control unit, and (3) a detachable wrapper/blanket. The illuminator is an LED strip arranged in a 63 x 21 waterproof enclosure directed to the neonate's body through a transparent layer of the blanket. The control unit consists of microcontroller-based circuitry with associated electronic components and sensors. The detachable wrapper cover has both transparent and opaque layers that allow for easy installation of the illuminator and focuses the light on the neonate's body. The transparent part is to allow easy passage of the light rays while the opaque part is to prevent the light rays from getting to the newborn’s eyes and the external environment.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions:: The measured irradiance of the Bili-wrapper device was found to be 39μW/cm2/nm in compliance with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) standard (Vinod, 2011). The inclusion of a temperature monitoring unit helped mitigate the need for a caregiver’s continuous supervision of the neonate. Bili-blankets have the benefit of being used at home if the neonate's condition is not critical. Unlike most conventional Bili-blankets that require the use of eye protection, this design does not need the infant’s eye to be covered due to the opaque layer of the wrapper that prevents the exposure of the eye to light.

Acknowledgements (Optional): : We are greatly indebted to Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, University of Lagos Design Studio for granting the platform to develop this project.

References (Optional): : Brits, H., Adendorff, J., Huisamen, D., Beukes, D., Botha, K., Herbst, H., & Joubert, G. (2018). The prevalence of neonatal jaundice and risk factors in healthy term neonates at National District Hospital in Bloemfontein. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 10. https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v10i1.1582

Vinod, B. (2011). Phototherapy to Prevent Severe Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia in the Newborn Infant 35 or More Weeks of Gestation. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-1494

Vreman, H., Wong, R., & Stevenson, D. (2004). Phototherapy: Current methods and future directions. Seminars in Perinatology, 28, 326–333. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.semperi.2004.09.003

Xiong, T., Qu, Y., Cambier, S., & Mu, D. (2011). The side effects of phototherapy for neonatal jaundice: What do we know? What should we do? European Journal of Pediatrics, 170, 1247–1255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-011-1454-1