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The infant incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit: unresolved issues and future developments

  • Roberto Antonucci , Annalisa Porcella and Vassilios Fanos
Published/Copyright: July 10, 2009
Journal of Perinatal Medicine
From the journal Volume 37 Issue 6

Abstract

Since the 19th century, devices termed incubators were developed to maintain thermal stability in low birth weight (LBW) and sick newborns, thus improving their chances of survival. Remarkable progress has been made in the production of infant incubators, which are currently highly technological devices. However, they still need to be improved in many aspects. Regarding the temperature and humidity control, future incubators should minimize heat loss from the neonate and eddies around him/her. An unresolved issue is exposure to high noise levels in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Strategies aimed at modifying the behavior of NICU personnel, along with structural improvements in incubator design, are required to reduce noise exposure. Light environment should be taken into consideration in designing new models of incubators. In fact, ambient NICU illumination may cause visual pathway sequelae or possibly retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), while premature exposure to continuous lighting may adversely affect the rest-activity patterns of the newborn. Accordingly, both the use of incubator covers and circadian lighting in the NICU might attenuate these effects. The impact of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on infant health is still unclear. However, future incubators should be designed to minimize the EMF exposure of the newborn.

Keywords: Body temperature regulation; electromagnetic fields (EMFs); incubators, infant; infant, newborn; intensive care units, neonatal; light; noise
Corresponding author: Roberto Antonucci, MD Neonatal Intensive Care Unit University of Cagliari Via Ospedale 119 09124 Cagliari Italy Tel.: +39 070 6093438 Fax: +39 070 6093430
Received: 2008-7-2
Revised: 2009-3-25
Accepted: 2009-6-2
Published Online: 2009-07-10
Published Online: 2009-07-10
Published in Print: 2009-11-01

©2009 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Expert panel recommendation
  2. Delivery mode for the extremely premature fetus: a statement of the prematurity working group of the World Association of Perinatal Medicine
  3. Review articles
  4. The infant incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit: unresolved issues and future developments
  5. Survival and major disability rate in infant born at 22–25 weeks of gestation
  6. Original articles – Obstetrics
  7. Gene expression profiling of maternal blood in early onset severe preeclampsia: identification of novel biomarkers
  8. Risk assessment for preeclampsia in women with gestational diabetes mellitus
  9. Maternal serum adiponectin multimers in patients with a small-for-gestational-age newborn
  10. Maternal serum adiponectin multimers in gestational diabetes
  11. The effect of maternal obesity on the course of labor
  12. Decreased placental oxygenation capacity in pre-eclampsia: clinical application of a novel index of placental function preformed at the time of delivery
  13. Utility of two-dimensional echocardiography in pregnancy and post-partum period and impact on management in an inner city hospital
  14. A new obstetrical polyurethane versus stainless steel forceps: a comparison of forces generated to the base of the fetal skull during simulated deliveries
  15. Original article – Fetus
  16. Nuchal translucency and lymphatic system maldevelopment
  17. Orginal articles – Newborn
  18. Indicators of compliance for developmental follow-up of infants discharged from a regional NICU
  19. Disparity in circulating adiponectin multimers between term and preterm infants
  20. Reduction of IGF-binding protein-3 as a potential marker of intra-uterine growth restriction
  21. The clinical outcomes of late preterm infants: a multi-center survey of Zhejiang, China
  22. Early enteral feeding in conservatively managed stage II necrotizing enterocolitis is associated with a reduced risk of catheter-related sepsis
  23. Short communications
  24. Serum proinflammatory cytokine – interleukin-8 as possible infection site marker in preterm deliveries
  25. Obstetric outcomes of low-risk labors at ‘Japanese tatami’ mat delivery room: a preliminary study
  26. Letters to the Editor
  27. Diagnosis and treatment of maternal acute myeloid leukemia during pregnancy imitating HELLP syndrome
  28. Vanishing nuchal translucency syndrome
  29. Congenital cataract with de novo balanced reciprocal t(3;13) (q23;q12) translocation in a newborn
  30. Breast feeding as human and divine nourishment
  31. Obituary
  32. Emile Papiernik will stay alive in our thoughts
  33. Congress Calendar
  34. Congress Calendar
  35. Index Volume 37 (2009)
  36. Index Volume 37 (2009) - Contents
  37. Index - Subjects
  38. Index - Subjects
  39. Index - Authors
  40. Index - Authors
  41. Acknowledgement
  42. Acknowledgement
https://doi.org/10.1515/JPM.2009.109
Keywords for this article
Body temperature regulation; electromagnetic fields (EMFs); incubators, infant; infant, newborn; intensive care units, neonatal; light; noise

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Expert panel recommendation
  2. Delivery mode for the extremely premature fetus: a statement of the prematurity working group of the World Association of Perinatal Medicine
  3. Review articles
  4. The infant incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit: unresolved issues and future developments
  5. Survival and major disability rate in infant born at 22–25 weeks of gestation
  6. Original articles – Obstetrics
  7. Gene expression profiling of maternal blood in early onset severe preeclampsia: identification of novel biomarkers
  8. Risk assessment for preeclampsia in women with gestational diabetes mellitus
  9. Maternal serum adiponectin multimers in patients with a small-for-gestational-age newborn
  10. Maternal serum adiponectin multimers in gestational diabetes
  11. The effect of maternal obesity on the course of labor
  12. Decreased placental oxygenation capacity in pre-eclampsia: clinical application of a novel index of placental function preformed at the time of delivery
  13. Utility of two-dimensional echocardiography in pregnancy and post-partum period and impact on management in an inner city hospital
  14. A new obstetrical polyurethane versus stainless steel forceps: a comparison of forces generated to the base of the fetal skull during simulated deliveries
  15. Original article – Fetus
  16. Nuchal translucency and lymphatic system maldevelopment
  17. Orginal articles – Newborn
  18. Indicators of compliance for developmental follow-up of infants discharged from a regional NICU
  19. Disparity in circulating adiponectin multimers between term and preterm infants
  20. Reduction of IGF-binding protein-3 as a potential marker of intra-uterine growth restriction
  21. The clinical outcomes of late preterm infants: a multi-center survey of Zhejiang, China
  22. Early enteral feeding in conservatively managed stage II necrotizing enterocolitis is associated with a reduced risk of catheter-related sepsis
  23. Short communications
  24. Serum proinflammatory cytokine – interleukin-8 as possible infection site marker in preterm deliveries
  25. Obstetric outcomes of low-risk labors at ‘Japanese tatami’ mat delivery room: a preliminary study
  26. Letters to the Editor
  27. Diagnosis and treatment of maternal acute myeloid leukemia during pregnancy imitating HELLP syndrome
  28. Vanishing nuchal translucency syndrome
  29. Congenital cataract with de novo balanced reciprocal t(3;13) (q23;q12) translocation in a newborn
  30. Breast feeding as human and divine nourishment
  31. Obituary
  32. Emile Papiernik will stay alive in our thoughts
  33. Congress Calendar
  34. Congress Calendar
  35. Index Volume 37 (2009)
  36. Index Volume 37 (2009) - Contents
  37. Index - Subjects
  38. Index - Subjects
  39. Index - Authors
  40. Index - Authors
  41. Acknowledgement
  42. Acknowledgement
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