This network of systems is powered and regulated by cutting edge electrical mechanisms. Fluid flow controls the humidity of the chambers, while gas exchange and partial pressure regulation ensure that the baby receives adequate oxygen and fresh air. Within these apparatuses are heaters operating on central concepts of thermodynamics. While its goals are simple, the modern incubator’s development since its days in the circus is a successful convergence of many aspects of engineering. By providing these conditions, the potential health risks associated with premature birth, such as respiratory failure, lack of body temperature regulation, and vision or hearing loss, are minimized. These controlled factors include warm temperature, temperate humidity, safe levels of light and sound exposure, and higher-than normal oxygen levels. Modern incubators utilize advanced microprocessors to monitor, control, and maintain the baby’s environment. Incubators are primarily used for children born as early as 6 months into a pregnancy, providing conditions similar to those in the womb. Over the last hundred years, the neonatal incubator has been one of the most influential contributions to the decline in infant mortality rate. Created purely as an exhibit, incubators became an integral part of medical practices needed to nurse premature babies to health. The show’s popularity drew attention to the potential benefits of incubators and played an important role in their acceptance by mainstream medicine. Upon admission, patrons of the park would enter a sterile tent and marvel at Martin Couney and a team of nurses tending to dozens of premature infants held in strange metal contraptions to “incubate” the babies to health. Tucked away among the flashing lights and carnival games was the world’s first neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). IntroductionĪt the turn of the 20 th century, patrons of New York’s Coney Island amusement park stumbled upon a fascinating new exhibit. Neonatal incubators utilize innovations such as air pressure control, heat circulation, and humidity control from a variety of engineering fields that help replicate the complex conditions that a child would experience in their mother’s womb. Despite the high infant mortality rate in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, many medical professionals were hesitant to adopt incubator technology until Martin Couney, a circus showman from Germany, revealed the astounding survival rates that incubators provided. ![]() The introduction and mainstream development of infant incubators has significantly impacted the life expectancy of babies that are born as early as 24 weeks into a pregnancy.
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