Transportable infant incubator for developing countries

Premature infants make up 25% of all births in developing countries and are usually born outside of a hospital. The World Health Organization and Engineering World Health have stressed the need for a transportable infant incubator designed for use in developing countries. The goal of this project is to create a device which protects and incubates an infant while being transported to a hospital. The device needs to be economical, robust, and use easily replaceable parts. The heating mechanism will use computer fans, a humidifier, and car headlights to provide heat. The temperature will be automatically maintained by a proportional integrative derivative (PID) controller. Large temperature deviations and low battery charge will be announced through an audible alert. The base will be made of aluminum due to its low cost and durability. The bassinet cover will be polycarbonate due to its low thermal conductivity and strength. A theoretical MATLAB model of the preterm infant and incubator will be implemented to evaluate the performance of the design. Testing goals will include finding average power consumption, times to reach target temperature (33.5°C), and the safety of the device.