Bangalore-based company Bempu has devised the Bempu Hypothermia Alert Device — a continuous temperature monitoring bracelet with an inbuilt thermometer, which indicates whether a premature baby or one with a low weight at birth, is maintaining a healthy temperature.
The device is wrapped around the neonate’s wrist, and in five minutes an inbuilt algorithm indicates if the baby is hypothermic or is slipping into a state of hypothermia. If the baby is warm, a blue light starts blinking every 30 seconds. If the baby is cold, the bracelet sounds an alarm and an orange light starts blinking. This means the baby is entering the first stage of hypothermia, giving care givers enough time to take action. As an initial step, care givers are advised to keep the baby warm by holding him/her against the skin or by swaddling. If the device continues to beep it means that the baby is slipping into hypothermia because of some infection that needs medical attention, reports The Better India.
“In India, 92% of newborns become hypothermic. One of three babies is born with low birth weight and 18-42% newborn deaths can be prevented with thermal care,” says Gini Morgan, Public Health and Partnerships Manager at Bempu.
