View the full presentation + business model here.
In developing countries, a significant number of premature infants contract jaundice. The two biggest issues is: 1) premature babies cannot regulate their own body temperature, requiring external assistance from the mother or blankets 2) jaundiced infants cannot regulate the bilirubin in their bodies, therefore phototherapy is required. Normally, jaundice can be cured by phototherapy in a temperature-regulated environment. However, in developing countries, access to phototherapy is limited and when it is available, many times access to a warm environment it not. How can we warm these infants and administer the maximum amount of phototherapy?
To create a cost-effective warming solution for jaundiced premature infants, so that phototherapy can be administered while regulating the infant's body temperature.
Newborns need adequate warmth & phototherapy in addition to a comfortable setting. Caretakers need reliable temperature feedback and obvious user cues to avoid misuse. Parents need easy access to newborn appears warm and comfortable.
Through many sketching and post-it brainstorm sessions, we finally came up with a few iterations that needed to be tested for structural integrity and aesthetics. Since our group was so diverse in expertise, some ideas were eliminated earlier in the process, which helped quicken the pace of reaching a possible prototype.
Through many iterations whether it was through structural testing, user testing or just asking people what they thought of the prototypes, we gained valuable insights that allowed for our final alpha prototype to reach the potential that it has.
After gaining critical feedback from potential users, we landed up a prototype that consists of two parts: a heated bassinet, a contoured cushion.
Design That Matters took our prototype to the St. Boniface Hospital in Haiti for user testing and received positive results. Now, Design That Matters plans on taking the prototype into the next iteration stage.
