Turning a parent's worst nightmare into a blessing for babies with jaundice.

In 2015, Virtue Oboro experienced what every mother hopes to never go through. At just 48 hours, her newborn son, Tombra, was rushed into the hospital for emergency treatment. Tombra was diagnosed with jaundice at birth, which is a yellowish or greenish pigmentation of the skin and the whites of the eyes due to high bilirubin levels. Even though this is very common in newborns (affecting 60% worldwide), and usually resolves on their own, in Tombra's case, he required a bit more help, which meant, being placed under blue light.

This treatment is quite simple and effective, but in some places, including Oboro's home country of Nigeria, there was a shortage of the necessary equipment, which meant that, with no phototherapy units available, the family waited for hours on end, all while Tombra's condition deteriorated. This condition, while treatable, can lead to irreversible health problems including hearing loss, vision impairment, brain damage and cerebral palsy, and even death, if there isn't proper therapy. if there isn't any

Even with an emergency blood transfusion, Virtue's son wasn't able to wait much longer, leading her to find and purchase the bulb herself. With the set-up available, another problem arose- the power shortages. Throughout the 7 day course of treatment, there were several hours of blackout, meaning no treatment at all

Despite all obstacles, Ms. Oboro's son, now six years old, is a healthy and happy little boy, but this experience made such an impact on her that she set out on a mission- to save babies from jaundice, by conquering material shortness and power outages. This lead her to create, with the help of her husband, Crib A'Glow: a portable, affordable, solar-powered phototherapy unit, which treats jaundice using blue LED lights.

Putting it into perspective, one of the most effective phototherapy units currently used in Nigeria costs around $2,000. But Crib A'Glow -- produced in Nigeria using local materials --retails for $360 per unit. Additionally, because it's portable and solar-powered, the device can be used at home by parents living in remote areas with limited or inconsistent access to electricity.

Adapted from https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/21/africa/nigeria-neonatal-jaundice-sola...
Learn more about this invention here https://tinyheartshq.com/product/crib-aglow-phototherapy-treatment-device/