DreamWarmer infant warming pad
Receiving an Honorable Mention from the US Patents and Trademarks Office 'Patents for Humanity' in 2020, this ultra-low cost infant warmer will help save tens of thousands of newborns a year.
The mat uses a phase change wax, capable of holding at body temperature for around six hours, recharged simply by immersing in boiled water for about 40 minutes. Not only is the mat low cost, but the low tech approach means it can be recharged even by boiling a pot of water on a fire. By keeping the cost as low as possible, it's hoped there will be world-wide opportunities for the mat.
Critical, life-saving solutions designed and cost-optimized for the developing world
In low- and middle-income countries, hypothermia is a contributing cause in about one million infant deaths per year. Newborn babies, especially babies who are low birth weight or preterm or both, tend to cool to the temperature of their environment. Therefore even in warm climates like that of sub-Saharan Africa, newborns can become dangerously cold.
Skin-to-skin is heavily promoted to help support vulnerable babies during the first few critical weeks and months, but many babies require constant warmth, and it's just not feasible for mothers to do that, alone. They need to bathe, they may need to cook over a fire, or take care of their other children. So they have to stop; they put the baby down on a regular bed and then the baby gets cold.
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Mike developed a format for the phase change wax, and techniques for manufacturing and filling the 'candles', to support both prototype batches and production quantities. Mike also designed the pouch and graphics, and adapted a standard, low-cost insulated flask for receiving the boiling water and mat, for recharging.