This article written by Shilpa Kannan is to
introduce how the low cost technology saves preterm babies’ lives by comparing
the current baby death rate with the local medical conditions.
India is a country with the highest rate of
premature baby deaths, but most of the babies’ lives can be saved by providing
adequate warmth. Premature babies often have little baby fat to keep them warm,
and incubators are needed to keep them alive. However, in India, incubators
cannot be facilitated even in a state-run hospital in rural areas. Under such
severe circumstances, GE Healthcare launched a baby warmer named Lullaby to
help save the lives of new babies. Lullaby warmer consumes less power and is
cheaper than the traditional warmers. It is quoted as a model of “reverse
innovation” to decrease the premature baby death rate, and the warmer developed
by GE are sold in more than 80 countries.
Although Lullaby warmer is a good product to
save new babies’ lives, it still cannot take any effect when it is in rural
places where people have little access to basic healthcare facilities or even
electricity. In these places, people wrap new-born babies with layers of fabric
and hot water bottles to keep baby in warmth. However, many babies don’t
survive. To resolve this question, Embrace is invented to save the babies’
lives. It is a sleeping bag with a removable heating element with lower cost,
and it is more durable and portable. In addition, Embrace is not sold. Instead,
it is donated with non-profit venture to rural areas in need.
