Green , Health Correspondent

Technicians
at Christchurch Hospital have come up with a simple
invention to keep newborn babies asleep during hearing

The first six months of a baby’s life are
considered a critical window for language and speech
development, and the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme
offers hearing checks to all newborns in New

Electrodes are placed on the baby’s head with
a conductive gel to assess the brain stem and hearing nerve

But there’s a catch – the baby needs to be
asleep, or at least very settled, throughout the

And as it turned out, rubbing cold gel onto a
baby’s head was an effective way to wake one

Screening programme co-ordinator Angela Deken
explained: “Rubbing cold gel onto a baby’s head would often
give them a fright and that’s the last thing we

An unsettled baby would need to come back
another time to get the test – not to mention the
frustration it caused parents of newborns they had just
managed to get to sleep.

The Medical Physics and
Bioengineering team were contacted, and the solution was
surprisingly simple – a custom gel warmer.

portable, battery-powered commercial option on the market,
they made one.

“We looked at what radiology uses, but
they were thousands of dollars,” Deken said.

two of the engineers said, ‘Well, I’m sure we can make
something’.”

Development took about two years, but
eventually the Cosyplate Gel Warmer was the official
solution, and Deken said it was now being rolled out across
the whole district.

Electronics technician at
Christchurch Hospital Stefan James led its development. He
explained it used a small, battery-powered heating element
coupled to a stainless-steel plate, warming it to a safe and
consistent temperature of 37 degrees.

“The surface
temperature is continuously monitored, and screeners can
read the current temperature via a small display on the
device,” he said.

One important design consideration
was that the gel should not be warmed above 30 degrees for
prolonged periods, to prevent separation that could reduce
the effectiveness of the electrode.

The control board
and graphic overlay were designed by James, while the
enclosure and labelling were crafted by mechanical
technician Johann Bader.

Angela Deken said the results
had been immediate.

“We have noticed that babies are
far less likely to wake when we apply the gel now,” she

“Parents have also told us they much prefer the
idea of warm gel being used, particularly with winter
approaching.”

The team hoped other hospitals would be
interested in picking up the device and Deken said she had
already had an inquiry from another district keen to get
their hands on

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Original source: nz