Newton company's bili-hut blue light device saving newborns from jaundice in Ukraine
NEWTON - In war-torn Ukraine, some of the littlest patients are being born in areas without access to lifesaving care.
"About a thousand mothers give birth in Ukraine every day. We've received pictures from the field, they're giving birth in bomb shelters and in basements," says Dr. Anne CC Lee, director of Global Health in the Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Now, a U.S. project is bringing vital medical equipment to providers in Ukraine, to treat a common but serious condition in newborns.
The bili-hut was developed by Dr. Donna Brezinski, the CEO and founder of Little Sparrows Technologies in Newton, to treat babies with jaundice. It delivers phototherapy to help the body get rid of excess bilirubin.
"My efforts really started focusing on creating a device that was as effective as what we have in the NICU but could be flat packed and lightweight and delivered to pretty much anywhere in the world," Dr. Brezinski says.
About half of all newborns develop jaundice, according to the SUN project. 1 in 10 will develop severe jaundice, which can result in brain damage, seizures and even death if left untreated. Dr. Brezinski says, "There's no time for delay. And that's why you need to have effective equipment."
The device delivers as much blue light as possible by wrapping the light around the baby. Average treatment is 12 hours. "That compares to existing portable devices that may take 4 to 6 days. So, this device, because it covers so much skin surface area, works much, much faster," Dr. Brezinski says.
Little Sparrows Technologies and Brigham And Women's Hospital are behind "The Support Ukrainian Newborns" or "SUN" project, which is raising money to bring the devices to Ukraine as well as the tool, the bili-ruler, developed by Dr. Lee's lab. "To help identify babies that need treatment for jaundice in settings where there just is no lab capacity. You press it on the nose. The color that matches corresponds to a level of jaundice," she says.
The SUN project has already sent 12 bili-huts to Ukraine and is working to get dozens of bili-rulers to the area to help babies live a long and healthy life.
The Association of Neonatologists of Ukraine specifically requested the bili-huts and bili-rulers and is asking for at least 60 of each to be distributed. The project is raising funds and working to be able to meet this urgent need.
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