ENGINEERING FOR CHANGE
Tech Breakthroughs Transform Care for Vulnerable Newborns
Two devices honored at ISHOW Americas are ready to bring critical health care solutions to underserved areas.
Written by Mercy C. Wanjiku Nduati
MILLIONS OF INFANTS WORLDWIDE face life-threatening diseases or complications in their first weeks of life, conditions that are often preventable with timely care. Two new medical technology innovations are transforming how technology can change the course of infant health, especially in constrained, low-resource settings.
“[BiliRoo] is a simple device that is very similar to standard kangaroo care slings that are easy to take on and off.”
— Daniel John, BiliRoo's founder and a first-year medical student at the University of Michigan Medical School
POWERED BY THE SUN
Jaundice is associated with high levels of bilirubin in the blood, known as hyperbilirubinemia. Typically, mild cases of jaundice resolve within three to five days without complications, but as many as 8 to 11 percent of infants develop moderate to severe jaundice. If severe jaundice is left untreated, the unconjugated bilirubin can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and can lead to encephalopathy, cerebral palsy, and even death.
BiliRoo is a patent-pending device that aims to address this substantial treatment gap in low-resource settings by using filtered sunlight to provide phototherapy.
“Jaundice is a common condition, affecting approximately one in 10 infants worldwide. However, in regions designated as low-resource areas, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, over 6 million infants lack access to the necessary standard phototherapy treatment,” said Daniel John, BiliRoo’s founder and a first-year medical student at the University of Michigan Medical School.
Standard phototherapy can prevent lifelong complications such as brain damage, yet many infants miss out on treatment because of high costs and unreliable electricity. “For example, conventional hospital phototherapy units are very expensive, costing over $ 1,000 per unit. Also, standard treatments require the availability of continuous electricity, which is often lacking in low-resource environments,” he said.
An illustration shows how the BiliRoo is worn. Illustration: BiliRoo
The device features phototherapy filters fitted into a kangaroo care infant sling, allowing parents to actively participate in treatment while their child also benefits from skin-to-skin contact.
The care infant sling doesn't require power, but instead uses the sun’s energy to transmit blue light. “It is a simple device that is very similar to standard kangaroo care slings that are easy to take on and off,” John added.
The device is designed to be highly affordable at just $30 each, thanks to its relatively low-cost and readily available materials such as cloth and plastic. Also, the device can be reused up to 10 times.
“The device underwent numerous prototypes,” John said. “Learning new skills like sewing and gauging where the device will be manufactured, either in sub-Saharan Africa or Nepal, will depend on the materials available in those settings.”
Feedback from clinicians and potential users was integrated into the device’s design. BiliRoo has already undergone bench testing to validate its functionality and the company is preparing to enter clinical trials in Nigeria, Nepal, and other parts of the world in 2025 and 2026. The plan is to sell the device directly to hospitals, which will then determine the method for providing the BiliRoo device to patients.
An illustration demonstrates how a baby would wear Dynamic Infant Neurorehab Aid’s soft robotic suit. Illustration: DINA
MAINTAINING MOVEMENT
Neonatal brachial plexus palsy (BPP) presents at birth and can be a debilitating condition with long-term consequences. In response, biomedical engineer Victor Manuel Ticllacuri has developed a soft robotic suit to assist range-of-motion therapy in newborns with brachial plexus palsy at the Kennedy-Krieger Institute. His innovation is called the Dynamic Infant Neurorehab Aid (DINA).
Drawing from his experience working with newborns at Peru’s Children’s National Institute and studies at Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, Ticllacuri—who was a preterm infant himself—saw an opportunity to help the delicate newborn population using soft robotics technology.
A key aspect of the device’s functionality is its ability to control precise motion requirements. This precision is critical due to the extremely delicate nature of the newborn population it serves. DINA is a first-of-its-kind device, offering a specific range of motion therapy in newborns.
“The novelty lies in successfully applying soft robotics to this delicate population while maintaining the precision needed for effective treatment. The aid automates a range of motion therapy for brachial plexus palsy, stimulating nerve regeneration while the soft robotics aims to control precise motion requirements,” Ticllacuri said.
DINA’s development presented several notable technical challenges for the development team. The core technical challenge was manufacturing the soft robotic components from scratch.
An infant wearing the soft robotic suit. Photo: DINA
“We spent about a year developing the project through an iterative prototyping process,” Ticllacuri said. “It took countless tests to fine-tune the design and functionality, but our persistence, the constant iterations, and the team’s expertise in design and biomechanics made it a success.”
Given the nature of the newborn population that the device is designed to treat, a critical difficulty stemmed from the interplay between materials and functionality. The team considered the mechanical properties of materials that could have a less significant impact on newborns.
“Because the device automates range-of-motion therapy and is used on newborns, controlling precise motion requirements is essential. Consequently, small changes in the materials utilized can affect the treatment delivered,” he noted.
The device features 3D-printed components, silicon, and medical-grade fabrics, which contribute to its affordable cost at less than $100 per unit. More advanced options, versions, and price points may eventually be tailored for the U.S. and Latin American markets.
The team is seeking FDA Class 2 medical device classification for the soft robotic exosuit, a process that could take anywhere from 1 to 5 years.
Considering USAID foreign aid cuts, both company founders are exploring funding resources or additional grant opportunities to support clinical trials and eventual market launch, which would make it possible to get both devices into the hands of families in need within the next year or two.
For winning ASME’s ISHOW Americas 2025, both BiliRoo and DINA earned a seed grant and mentorship to continue advancing their technologies.
MERCY C. WANJIKU NDUATI is an editorial fellow based in Nairobi, Kenya, with Engineering for Change, an online platform for innovators working to solve problems in sustainable global development. ASME is a founding partner of E4C.
“It took countless tests to fine-tune the design and functionality, but our persistence, the constant iterations, and the team’s expertise in design and biomechanics made it a success.”
— Victor Manuel Ticllacuri, biomedical engineer and DINA founder
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