Incublanket

Product Description

The Incublanket is an infant warming device which is wrapped snugly around the baby. It comes in three sizes to accommodate preterm, newborns, and growing babies. The blanket temperature is controlled by a warming pack, which a caregiver boils and puts inside the Incublanket. The warming pack (Instawarmer) lasts 5+ hours before it needs to be switched out for another warm one. The peak temperature of the Instawarmer is 104°F (40°C).

Market Suggested Retail Price

$200.00

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

Africa: Relief for Africa or Maternova Other Regions: Maternova or Warmilu (North America)

Manufacturing/Building Method

The Instawarmer and Incublanket are manufactured in Michigan, USA. All materials for the products are purchased from ISO certified manufacturers.

Intellectural Property Type

Patent Protected

User Provision Model

Users in Africa and India can order the Incublanket from a distribution partner - either Relief for Africa, Vital Health Africa, or Maternova. In North America users should order directly from Warmilu. Users in all other regions should check the Warmilu website or contact the company to find out whether there is a distributor in their location.

Distributions to Date Status

As of 2017, Warmilu had plans to distribute 5,000 Incublankets in Kenya and an additional 2500 Incublankets elsewhere in East Africa.

Design Specifications

The Instawarmer heat pack is a composed of a phase changing material and a thermal buffer. It has an activation disk so the heat can be generated with a click of the disc. This pack is inserted into a zippered pouch of the Incublanket. The Incublanket is made of an insulated materials that wraps around the infant and fastens with a buckle. The Incublanket comes in different sizes to accommodate both preterm and and full term infants.

Technical Support

For technical support, users can contact either the local distributor or Warmilu.

Replacement Components

Replacement Instawarmer packs are available separately.

Lifecycle

The Instawarmer pack can be used 100 times for 5+ hours each time.

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

5-8 hours of temperature retention
No electricity required
Non toxic
Portable

Vetted Performance Status

The pack lasted for more than five hours in clinical trials. Nurses were able to integrate the Instawarmer heating into the workflow. The pack was also able to be warmed in an autoclave.

Safety

The Incublanket is made of non-toxic food grade materials. The peak temperature of the Instawarmer is 104°F (40°C), this should be considered along with the ambient temperature to ensure the baby does not overheat. The warming can be turned off or on using the activation disk. The Incublanet is designed with some insulation to provided a regulated warmth to the infant to prevent hypothermia and also ensure the patient is not burned.

Complementary Technical Systems

The Incublanket is used with the Instawarmer. It supplements Kangaroo Mother Care.

Academic Research and References

Thairu, L., et al. Innovative Newborn Health Technology for Resource-Limited Environments. Tropical Medicine & International Health, vol. 18, no. 1, 2012, pp. 117–128., doi:10.1111/tmi.12021.

Compliance with regulations

The Incublanket has the following certifications:

An FDA Certificate of Exportability
A Kenyan MOH Pharmacy and Poisons Board Medical Device Registration
An FDA Certificate for the Instwarmer

Comments from the Community

1 Comment

Stephen_Advisor says:

September 5, 2018 at 2:44 pm

This is a good overview of this product. The primary feedback that I have is that there isn’t any information on what temperature (or temperature ranges) it will keep the baby at. While it claims to have a 1C temperature variation, the nominal temperature isn’t stated. It’s unclear to me how it can only have a variation of 1C when the nominal temperature will be largely influenced by ambient temperature, temperature of the infant, how well the blanket is secured around the infant, the temperature and material that the infant/blanket are placed on, etc. Also, I wonder as to the potential of the infant becoming overheated. A few comments around the safety of using the device with respect to temperatures being too warm/cold would be useful.