By Sajib Mannan

 

James Roberts, a graduate from Loughborough University, won
this year’s James Dyson Award for his life-saving invention, a low-cost incubator called MOM.

James, 23, made this great invention that can save the lives of many babies, especially in places where essential medical facilities are unavailable for newborn children.

The MOM incubator costs less than $400 to manufacture while providing the same benefits as a regular incubator (which costs about $50,000).

James believes that his device will help in a tremendous way to offer necessary treatment to neonates in poorer countries where an average $50,000 incubator is unaffordable to many hospitals.

The incubator is easy to transport, useful and affordable. Because the device is inflatable, it can be collapsed to the size of a briefcase.

MOM is heated using its ceramic heating elements and includes a gauge that shows its temperature and humidity level. The heat and humidity of the unit can be controlled manually and adapted according to the baby’s age. An alarm goes off if there’s a change in temperature. It also includes an optional phototherapy unit to reduce illness caused by jaundice. The unit is collapsible and empowered with intelligent jaundice lightening. Jaundice is a common morbidity among premature babies.

The incubator can run on battery for up to 24 hours in the case of a power shortage, which is a common problem in low-resource areas. This device will play a great role in serving necessary medical services to newborns in hard-to-reach areas such as disaster zones and refugee camps.

James Roberts, who graduated this year with a BSc in product design and technology, was inspired to develop the device after watching a documentary film on newborn babies dying due to lack of incubation in refugee camps in Syria. After watching the documentary, he felt a strong will to develop something to help these and other similar children. Then he became so passionate that ended up selling his car to fund his first model. And that’s not all; he blew out his housemate’s hairdryer to test his device. (She didn’t know about that!)

James says he will be happy when in 10 years’ time he sees kids that have been saved by his invention. As the winner of the James Dyson Award, he will now receive £30,000 in prize money to make a better and low-cost prototype.

His incubator will undergo several extensive tests before it goes into mass production. James plans to travel India and Brazil to launch his life-saving device.

Pebbles of Hope congratulates James Roberts on developing this innovative device that could save thousands of preemie lives!