The design of an automatic tactile stimulation system to treat Apnea of Prematurity: the BreatheBuddy

Nearly all infants that are born prematurely frequently “forget” to breathe. These breathing pauses are called apnea. Frequent or prolonged apneic episodes have a negative effect on the neurological development of the infants and can lead to permanent brain damage. Adequate treatment of apnea is therefore of great importance in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Tactile stimulation applied by the nurse, such as stroking the cheeks or rubbing the back of the infant, ensures resumption of breathing. The response time of the nurse therefore has a major influence on the duration of apnea and is negatively influenced by high work load and alarm fatigue.
We hypothesize that the outcome of preterm infants can be improved by enabling a prompt response following detected apnea. The goal of this one year design project therefore was to design a first prototype of an automatic tactile stimulation device, using mechanical tactile stimuli.
At the start of the project, various research has been performed to clarify the exact problem and the design vision including preconditions. This research included, among others, identification of other equipment used on the NICU, analysis of the current apnea treatment process, analysis of the current methods of manual tactile stimulation and identification of possible risks. Based on this information a Program of Requirements was developed, serving as a starting point for the design phase. Concepts and ideas were generated and evaluated trough brainstorm sessions and rapid prototyping, resulting together in the final concept of a first prototype of BreatheBuddy. The concept will be finalized in the coming months by evaluating different prototypes in iterative deign loops and clinical feasibility, effectivity and efficacy studies will follow in LUMC.