TrioTemp
Context
Temperature change, high or low, is one of the first and most telling indicators of neonatal sepsis, which is the most common infection in Kawempe National Referral Hospital’s NICU. Disease transmission occurs more often when several neonates are placed in one incubator, which we observed at Kawempe. As disease transmission increases, the amount of neonates with drastic temperature fluctuation also increases, which nurses say is problematic as there is only one sensor in each radiant warmer. Consequently, only one baby is monitored, and the others are only checked when noticed, and this problem has caused several deaths at Kawempe.
Solution
Over 8 weeks, our team of two Duke students and two Makerere students devised a solution that uses Arduino to measure and display the current, high, and low temperatures of 3 neonates. The temperature monitoring system utilizes a calibrated NTC thermistor affixed to a vinyl band fitted with velcro to be attached onto the baby’s upper arm. The acrylic casing houses the electronics, features a color coded system to identify the babies, and holds the light and sound notification systems. The lights indicate where the baby falls in pre-set temperature ranges of hot, cold, and normal. An alarm sounds when a baby enters the red or blue zones, and a nurse can reset the alarm when the baby has been attended to.
My role was designing and building the housing to ensure all components would fit and the device would be able to temporarily affix to an incubator. Additionally, I iterated and designed the probe and band system using input from the nurses to allow both precise temperature sensing as well as limited noise from external surfaces. I also aided in designing the circuit for the light notification system.
Skills
Prototyping, CAD, Arduino C++, Circuit design, Acrylic welding, Sensor calibration
Needs finding, Budgeting, Communication, Problem solving, Teamwork
Testing temperature sensing capability and light notification system using different temperature surfaces
Final prototype of attachment band with color coordination system and top flap to protect sensor
Device interface showing light notification system and temperature screen
Initial rapid prototype of device
Test of light notification system using hard-coded temperature values
Initial prototypes of attachment band
Testing delay in temperature change detection after sensor is moved from a heat source
Showing ability to monitor only one baby, as well as the logging feature that displays the baby’s high and low within the last hour, and current temperature
