Hugsy: a comforting solution for preterm neonates designed to enhance parent-child bonding

Premature neonates frequently need to spend several weeks or months in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). These neonates will experience a significant amount of pain, stress and discomfort during their hospital stay due to various medical interventions they will receive ranging from feeding to surgery. Although pharmacological pain treatments are available, often they are not suited for relieving of day-to-day discomfort and pain. Evidence is accumulating in the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions to relieve pain and discomfort for premature neonates, for example: Kangaroo care, facilitated tucking, and aromatherapy. This paper describes a new non-pharmacological comforting solution that combines various non-pharmacological interventions in a holistic way to provide comfort to neonates. The proposed solution, Hugsy, facilitates kangaroo care moments, and simulates the kangaroo care experience within the incubator by providing the neonate with a parent's unique smell, heartbeat, and feeling of support. We discuss the design and application of the solution, as well as the clinical study conducted with the first prototypes. Results indicate the Hugsy is a promising solution for comforting premature neonates and enhancing parent-child bonding.