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Saving the lives of nearly 30 newborns annually and more than 220 from permanent brain damage due to the terrible effects of PERINATAL ASPHYXIA, a tragedy that could be avoided with the technique called HYPOTHERMIC TREATMENT, which consists of strictly lowering the baby's temperature to between 33.5 and 34 degrees for 72 hours, while digitally monitoring possible seizures and brain oxygenation.
We would equip 3 biomedical machines to the Los Angeles Children's Hospital, the only 100% pediatric institution that serves an area of more than 61,000 square kilometers in 3 Colombian departments (Nariño, Putumayo and South Cauca) with few access roads. Today, this treatment is performed using MANUAL methods and high risks of error. For more than 16,000 babies born in southwestern Colombia, there is currently only one hypothermic treatment unit located in the city of Pasto, which is clearly insufficient.
Acquire 3 specialized machines to perform hypothermia treatment:
1. Machine 1: Equipment for controlled cooling (Hypothermia)
2. Machine 2: Continuous integrated amplitude electroencephalography monitor
(Constant monitoring of brain waves to detect seizures)
3. Machine 3: OXIMETER measures oxygen saturation in
(Permanent monitoring of cerebral oxygenation with Near Infrared Brain Spectroscopy)
In Colombia, the neonatal mortality rate is 14 per 1,000 live births and perinatal asphyxia is responsible for 23% (1.5) of these deaths. In Nariño, Putumayo and Bota Caucana, approximately 16,000 babies were born in 2023. Therapeutic hypothermia has become standard practice in the care of newborns affected by perinatal asphyxia.
Therapeutic hypothermia significantly reduces mortality and brain disability in newborns, achieving a reduction in long-term health care costs for both families and society in general.
This technique, which must be applied within the first 6 hours after detecting Perinatal Asphyxia, consists of covering the baby with a special suit connected to a controlled cooling machine through which water at 33.5 degrees Celsius runs mechanically controlled.
Additionally, sensors are placed that monitor brain waves to detect seizures and are finally complemented with sensors on the baby's forehead that digitally read brain oxygenation.
Performing this procedure empirically (manually) and without technological assistance runs the risk of lowering the temperature too much or rising above 34 degrees, losing the effectiveness of the treatment. It also cannot detect seizures adequately or control the lack of oxygenation in the brain.
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