Takeaways
Our main guiding principle before getting started was that advances in technology and therapy options aid to raise survival rates for preterm infants. As it relates to healthcare, the NICU project was crucial in terms of research for all of us.
To explore options to decrease newborn baby mortality, people from several fields, including industrial design, service design, and design for sustainability, collaborated to design the future of the neonatal intensive care unit. I developed my prototype skills with the aid of the project because it is essential to demonstrate the innovation's breadth to the stakeholders before developing the final product. Iterations and prototypes assist in user testing so we can gather feedback from users and make improvements without incurring a significant financial cost.
Research
Parents feel that they have little to offer to their newborns in a NICU. However, their presence, including stroking, speaking, and singing to their newborn, is very important. Limiting parents’ access disrupts the nurturing interactions that are necessary for an infant’s cognitive development and that are also essential to parents’ mental health.
During intensive care treatment, the babies may be exposed to toxic stress from painful procedures and a stressful physical environment with the absence of parents as caregivers and regulators of the infant’s stress response.
Most babies admitted to the NICU are preterm (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy), have low birth weight (less than 5.5 pounds), or have a health condition that needs special care.
The care team in the NICU should work together to monitor, diagnose, and treat these conditions, as well as provide support and care to both the newborns and their families.
Concepts
With the help of research, we found out the problems at the NICUs emerged into four themes and ten categories, including:
1. Interactions (professional, family, and interactions with the infants),
2. Care (routine orientation, understanding the need for developmental care, and conflict between traditional care and developmental care),
3. Structure of the NICU (deficit of the structural standards and equipment, survival or death)
4. Nurses’ competence (inadequate expertise and unsuitable employment).
Challenge
Role
User Researcher, Service Design
Timeframe
Feb 2023
Process
Challenges, Focus groups, Scope, Opportunities, Prototyping
Tools
Figma, Adobe Creative Suites, Procreate, Microsoft Word
Team
Kanika Somaiya (Service Design)
Priya Shroff (Service Design)
Tanuj Bisht (Service Design)
Material Used
Corrugated Cardboard
Paper
Legos
Adhesive
Paper straws
The concept is inspired by a Kangaroo technique, to integrate mothers and babies. The new service also improved the life of nurses that interact with NICUs.
Future of Neonatal intensive care unit
To explore opportunities to reduce the mortality of newborn babies
Process
Our team was in charge of innovating in the monitoring and supplies for the NICU as other distinct groups worked on the different sections of the prototype.
Team
(in photographic order from left to right)) : Jingfan Liang, Tanuj Bisht, Priya Shroff, Kanika Somaiya, Fei Gao, Jiuqi Ga, Shannon Morales, Martin Stasevich, Sanath Desai, Hadley Kronemeyer, Charmarlina Brazile, Aakriti Gupta, Xiaomeng Bian with Prof. Ricardo Martin.
Interventions
Feeding Tube
01
Current Problem
The feeding tube contains nutrition (formula or breast milk), which is not provided in a required proportion to neonatal.
Future Intervention
The feeding tube with automated system helps to deliver nutrition (formula or breast milk) efficiently to neonates.
Feeding Tube Display & Controller
02
Current Problem
The doctors or nurses are unable to track the number of nutrients provided through feeding tubes.
Future Intervention
The display screen will allow nurses or doctors to monitor the flow rate of the liquid as well as track the time. The screen features a large, easy-to-read display, an intuitive keyboard, an alarm, and a familiar user interface.
IV Fluids Monitoring & Controller
03
Current Problem
Neonatal are sometimes subjected to excessive IV fluid consumption without proper monitoring.
Future Intervention
The system aids in the continuous or intermittent delivery of fluids and medications to neonates. A screen shows the duration, dose, and rate of fluid delivery which helps in the reduction of medication errors.
IV Pole
04
Current Problem
NICU rooms are loaded with machines and IV stands which are a frequent obstacles for hospital staff to walk around the facility safely.
Future Intervention
The IV pole in integrated with the NICU unit, when required can be pulled up easily to hang IV fluid bags. This provides enough floor space for staff to work without any hindrance.
Interaction Controller
05
Current Problem
Parents can't interact with the baby when it is not allowed to take him from the unit or remotely.
Future Intervention
Available for nurses and parents to operate and enhance the interaction with the child. The monitor in the middle allows video calls between the child and the parents.
Interactive Sensors
06
Current Problem
Babies need to feel their parents voice and smell, but sometimes they are required to stay in the unit for treatment.
Future Intervention
The sensor plays the parent's voice and emits the parent's smell. From the auditory and olfactory stimulation so that children have a sense of security from their parents.
Light Strip
07
Current Problem
Also as part of the parent-baby interaction enhancement, lighting is also usually part of a big and heavy structure that can be replaced.
Future Intervention
The light strip can be flashing with a breathing light according to the parent's activity, visually stimulating the child to interact with the parent.
Heartbeat Simulation
08
Current Problem
Infants in incubators lose their connection with their mothers because they're kept isolated and can't be touched by anyone other than nurses.
Future Intervention
Inside the incubator, a recording of the mother's heartbeat plays. This simulates the sounds of the womb and builds a connection between the mother and her child.
Camera
09
Current Problem
The parents cannot see or touch their baby since NICU is an Isolated sterile environment.
Future Intervention
The camera is connected wirelessly to tablets so that parents can watch their baby and feel comfortable with the distance the treatment.
Moving Wheels and Lift Tables
10
Current Problem
The babies feel uneasy without their mother’s touch which makes them uncomfortable.
Future Intervention
Bottom with wheels for easy movement. The height of the lifting table can be adjusted to facilitate the operation of nurses and doctors
Bionic skin cushions
11
Current Problem
The babies feel uneasy without their mother’s touch which makes them uncomfortable.
Future Intervention
The bionic skin pad simulates the temperature and texture of real human beings to bring babies a sense of security
Vein Detector
12
Current Problem
It is hard for nurses or doctors to find vein in the neonatal due to adipose tissues which result in a lot of pricking.
Future Intervention
Vein detector with dual wavelength high intensity (LED) light helps to find vein and reduces unnecessary pain for neonatal.
Opportunities
Bonding children and families
Over stimulation after leaving the womb
Regulating temperature and humidity
IV Fluid monitoring
Assistance breathing
Vein detectors
