Team Members: Olga Miakicheva, Michael Nasr, Devi Khoday. Hosna Akhlaghpour
Capstone Client: Lisa Thompson, RN, PhD, FNP-C, Assistant Professor in School of Nursing at UCSF
Purpose: The birth-weight and vital-signs of infants at birth are strong predictors of neonatal mortality. However, in resource-poor countries where the majority of births occur at home, health screening of infants is difficult and too costly. Our team developed devices for screening the health of home-delivered newborns that can be used by midwives of varying educational levels in Guatemala to ensure that medical abnormalities in neonates are promptly identified. We developed a hand-held device with a pictorial interface where midwives enter data measurements (e.g. skin color, level of movement), and the device outputs an overall health assessment. We designed an electronic version to train users and verify proper use, as well as a mechanical version for wide distribution in Guatemala.