The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in a hospital attends to the needs of critically ill newborn babies, some of whom are born prematurely. The care provided is among the most intensive, specialised and high dependency within the hospital environment. Uniquely, the unit combines this clinical care with attending to each baby’s individual developmental needs, as well as supporting the parents as they bond with their child.
The babies typically have several clinical attachments including respiratory support, blood infusion lines, and vital sign monitoring sensors (Figure 1). The vital sign sensors used in this environment include ECG probes (heart activity), thermistors (skin temperature), and pulse oximeters (blood oxygen saturation, SpO2). These sensors are all connected by wires to a monitoring unit outside the incubator.
As part of the exploratory phase of this project, we conducted an interview study at Addenbrooke's Hospital with parents and nurses to investigate their views of the current vital sign monitoring system, and how they would view a wireless system [1]. This study has informed the development of a low power, small footprint wireless transmission unit to allow removal of the wires which tether the baby to the patient monitor.
One of the most important anticipated benefits of a wireless system will be to allow parents to take their babies out of the incubator more easily for skin-to-skin contact. This contact (also known as kangaroo care) has been widely demonstrated to improve clinical outcomes, particularly in pre-term neonates. By making it easier for parents to take their baby out more easily, we hope to increase the amount of skin-to-skin contact that is possible.
[1] Bonner O, Beardsall K, Crilly N, et al. ‘There were more wires than him’: the potential for wireless patient monitoring in neonatal intensive care. BMJ Innovations 2017;3:12-18.
Image used with consent of parent and photographer.
| Mr. Oliver Bonner |
Department of Engineering |
| Dr. Joan Lasenby |
Department of Engineering |
| Dr. Paul Robertson |
Department of Engineering |
| Dr. Kathy Beardsall |
Consultant in Neonatology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
