Newborn resuscitation kit provides guidance for caregivers

A team from Sweden’s Umeå University has designed a transparent blanket that provides lighted feedback for newborn resuscitation.

Many newborns struggle to breathe right away, so the team from Sweden’s Umeå University’s Institute of Design wanted to find a way to help caregivers remain as close to the mother as possible while swiftly caring for the infant. The solution they created became the Kanga kit. The kit consists of a small, slim cradle designed specifically for newborns and a transparent blanket printed with crucial positioning information for infant resuscitation.

The small size of the cradle holds an infant as close to its mother as possible while allowing enough space for health professionals to provide essential care. The clear blanket lights up to indicate whether more ventilation is needed, and the connected app provides for review and training. The team behind the kit used field tests to narrow down design concepts by incorporating feedback from both caregivers and patients.

Newborn care is completely reliant on the timeliness of the intervention, so making emergency care affordable and accessible is crucial to the saving of lives. A low-cost cardboard incubator provides support for underweight or premature babies, and a virtual reality game teaches emergency birth care. How could other portable healthcare devices be used or adapted to help provide continuity of care for a baby and mother once they leave a health facility?