Nasal masks for pre-term infants
This nasal mask was developed by Mike and a team at Brunel University's Design for Life Centre to address problems seen with pre-term infant ICU care when using nCPAP breathing assistance devices.
Prior to the launch of this product (and all the copycat products that the market has seen since), nurses choices for an interface between the baby and the equipment were nasal prongs that are notoriously difficult to create an effective seal with. With nurses tightening straps in an attempt to improve the seal, sometimes permanent damage to babies' noses was the outcome.
Mike and the team prototyped and developed three sizes of soft silicone mask that fit snuggly over the infant's nose for greatly improved sealing, much-reduced discomfort, and no tissue damage.
Form factor innovation and ergonomics
Working with a hospital in South West London, Mike and the team created the solution now manufactured by respiratory care specialists, Viomedex. Many prototypes were hand-crafted by painting up layers of latex onto sculpted plaster forms to tune the design of the securing flaps that are so critical to the design's stability on the nose, develop the different sizes, and tune wall thickness to maintain structure and form on the nose while maintaining softness, prior to tooling the parts.