The Initiative is a student driven project that focuses on reducing neonatal mortality in regions with underdeveloped neonatal healthcare.  In order to increase our current design’s development efficiency, our team is partitioned into four sub teams. A bassinet is being developed that will house an element used to regulate the infant’s temperature. We are  integrating a commercially available neonatal specific chemical heating pad option in our first phase of development and then integrating in the electrical heating mattress in the second phase. This autonomous unit will work in conjunction with a kangaroo carrier, which provides heating by skin-to-skin contact with a caregiver. Further iterations are under consideration for future  semesters as the team continues to pursue relationships necessary for a community-focused design. 

Our Mission

to develop a low-cost solution to neonatal mortality due to low birthweight and hypothermia through sustained thermoregulation for patients in low-resource communities.

Our Project

The Initiative: Hybrid Infant Warmer is a University of Michigan student group developing a socially-engaged design solution to this global healthcare issue through the development of a low-cost hybrid infant warmer. Our team contains 4 different subteams: KC (kangaroo care) Carrier, Bassinet, Heating, and Business Development. The thermoregulation system we are developing consists of a clothing carrier supporting Kangaroo Care between the neonate and the caretaker as well as a heated bassinet regulating neonatal body temperature for extended time periods.

What We’re up to

We have developed three prototypes of the clothing carrier and two prototypes of the bassinet. Currently, the kangaroo care is implementing feedback to iterate on their design, and the mechanical and electrical teams are getting ready to perform testing and integrate both prototypes. Our KC carrier team has thus far developed a functional prototype which has received extensive feedback from local mothers’ groups. They are currently incorporating this feedback into a more refined, accessible, and comfortable design. Our second bassinet prototype has been completed, and we are looking forward to the testing stage and getting feedback on its functionality. Additionally, the bassinet will be integrated with the heated mattress to assess how the designs work together. Our electrical team is working on maintaining the steady-state temperature of the mattress, the optimization of circuitry, and the implementation of a reliable feedback control system. We will be traveling to Kumasi, Ghana over Spring break to receive feedback on our prototype and network with new community partner connections and  healthcare professionals in the area.

our partners

We are in communication with Dr. Joyce Emarkayo Bening at the Suntreso Government Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana in order to ensure that our design aligns with the needs of our community partners. Additionally, we are fortunate to have Dr. Solomon Adera of the Mechanical Engineering Department at U-M as a faculty advisor to our team.