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In Uganda, long travel times often leave premature babies critically cold or unresponsive on arrival. NeoNest is tailored to meet the practical needs of local healthcare systems, ensuring infants maintain an optimal body temperature while enroute to hospital.

Vivian’s story

Growing up in a small village in Western Uganda, Vivian experienced first-hand the often-heartbreaking reality of limited access to healthcare in rural communities. The nearest medical centre was an hour away, and a major hospital equipped for neonatal care over four hours away, putting premature babies born in rural areas at extremely high risk.

Transporting these vulnerable infants by ambulance, often over rough, untarmacked roads, only compounded the problem. Long journeys meant babies frequently arrived in critical condition or had already passed away. Vivian and her Che Innovations cofounders wanted to find a cost-effective and practical way to improve mortality rates, and the idea for NeoNest was born – an easy-to-use device for ambulance staff to keep babies both warm and monitored during their life-saving journey to hospital.

The innovation

NeoNest is a portable, low-cost, neonatal warming and monitoring device that operates via a power cable plugged into an ambulance socket. Once the infant is placed inside, the device immediately begins monitoring key health indicators, shown via a user interface which displays temperature and warning messages in case a sensor fails, or the heating element isn’t working. LEDs on the device show green for normal operation, orange for a warning, and red for danger. An alarm also sounds to signify the device has started operation or is experiencing errors or failures.

Designed for both security and warmth, the device features an adjustable ring and Velcro straps to keep the baby securely in place. It functions as a compact, makeshift incubator, generating and regulating heat through an electric circuit. Constructed with locally available materials – including a repurposed jerry can, a refurbished laptop adapter, and mattress foam – it provides a cost-effective and life-saving solution.

The device also includes a smart temperature control system, integrated through a microcontroller. A feedback loop system automatically maintains optimum temperatures while adapting to environmental changes. Then, a heat-conducting fluid evenly distributes warmth, ensuring that even the most vulnerable infants can be stabilised and kept comfortable during transport.

Making a difference

A hundred units of the Che nest are currently being used in Ugandan health facilities, with newborns secured in the current individual infant warmers to prevent cross contamination, increasing their chances of survival.

The team at Che Innovations is not stopping there. With a newly awarded patent, Vivian and her team are working hard to scale use of the device across Uganda, bringing life-saving warmth to premature babies and hope to mothers of newborns in critical condition.

The closest health facilities are over four to six hours away, and often the baby has died or is in a worse condition by the time they reach the facility. This is why we wanted to create NeoNest. The Africa Prize’s mentorship programme is invaluable to bringing our innovation to a market ready product and helping to make an impact.