A Smart Solution for a Silent Crisis

IN UGANDA AND MANY OTHER LOW-RESOURCE SETTINGS, neonatal units at hospitals are often overwhelmed. A single nurse may be responsible for 10 to 15 babies or more, making continuous manual monitoring nearly impossible.

According to a UNICEF brief on thermal management, as many as 85 percent of newborns in resource-constrained settings experience hypothermia, a condition that often goes undetected due to infrequent checks and a lack of appropriate monitoring tools.

As part of its efforts to address critical healthcare challenges, Neosave Technologies, a Ugandan med-tech startup, has developed a wearable device called Autothermo that is designed to continuously monitor newborns’ vital signs in low-resource hospital settings. It builds on human-factor engineering principles and enables remote, centralized, and simultaneous monitoring of multiple babies.

“Born from a deeply personal experience and informed by real-world challenges in Uganda’s healthcare system, the Autothermo wearable device addresses the critical need for continuous monitoring of newborns’ temperature, heart rate, and oxygen levels—vital signs often neglected due to understaffed facilities in low-resource hospital settings,” said Nura Izrath, co-founder of Neosave Technologies.

FEATURE FOCUSED

During the research and development process, Neosave’s team of engineers visited Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda and spent time speaking directly with the nurses, pediatricians, and caregivers. Frontline workers were open about the challenges they faced while handling and caring for newborns, hypothermia in particular.

Hypothermia increases the risk of infection, respiratory distress, and organ failure. Without early detection and timely intervention, babies can deteriorate within minutes. By the time signs are visible, the situation may already be critical, resulting in long-term complications or death. Solving this problem was not just a technical challenge, it was a matter of saving lives in their most fragile state.

Since the device must sit on a newborn’s skin, it was developed to be comfortable, colorful, and non-invasive.

“The product version of the device is made of silicone straps—the velcro strap is still in the sewing process,” Izrath explained. “The casing housing the electrical component is made of ABS resin, which is good for heat resistance and impact strength.”

Autothermo wirelessly transmits real-time vitals to a central display unit, allowing caregivers and nurses to instantly see which babies need urgent attention, without waiting for periodic checks.

Its wearable form minimizes the risk of cross-contamination and ensures uninterrupted care. The device is also aligned with ISO 13485 medical device standards, bringing global quality assurance into low-resource hospitals.

The sensor itself has an embedded electrical microcontroller. Initially, the team chose to use an industrial-grade sensor but soon switched over to medical-grade sensors, which were more accurate and suitable for healthcare applications. Cloud technology is used to store and analyze data, enabling predictive models and trend analysis. This combination offers patient comfort and doesn’t interfere with blood flow or cause allergic reactions.

“Its unique features, such as medical-grade sensors, battery efficiency, and reusability, result in lower operational costs in hospitals,” Izrath said. “Also, it has visual alerts, including color-coded emojis that highlight critical cases when vitals fall outside safe ranges. The battery can last for up to 48 hours in low power settings and its simplicity enables easy training and rapid adoption, even in overcrowded wards.”