I-Corps: Tri-functional (feeding, venting, sensing) tube for premature infants

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是为早产儿开发一种三功能（喂养，排气和传感）管。早产儿的长期健康是一个主要的国家和国际问题。全球每年有超过1500万婴儿，其中美国有35万婴儿早产。高质量的临床研究推动了产前护理的巨大进步，并使干预成为20-30年前被认为与生存不相容的妊娠的护理标准。在妊娠22-23周出生的婴儿，体重400-500克，现在通常接受重症监护干预。呼吸衰竭仍然是极早产儿死亡和发病的主要原因，但自20世纪80年代引入氧饱和度监测以来，呼吸状态的生理监测尚未取得进展。所提出的三功能管可以通过在新生儿重症监护室（NICU）中连续监测生命体征同时对极早产儿进行喂养和通气来提供价值，从而避免了对皮肤安装传感器的需要，皮肤安装传感器对新生儿皮肤有刺激性并且由于接触不良而产生不可靠的读数。使用这种三功能管技术可能会降低当前社会的医疗保健成本。这个I-Corps项目是基于早产儿三功能（喂养，排气和传感）管的开发。该技术首次集成了三种功能：将牛奶输送到胃中，排出胃中多余的气体（非侵入性通气模式的副产品），以及多功能生命体征监测，如心电图（ECG），经颅压和身体核心温度。基于临床需求和工程输入，三功能管路设计经过多次迭代。广泛的文献和产品评论，以及测试结果，已经确定了最佳的传感器位置和配置。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a tri-functional (feeding, venting, and sensing) tube for premature infants. The long-term health of children born prematurely is a major national and international concern. Each year more than 15 million infants globally, and 350,000 infants in the US are born prematurely. High-quality clinical research has driven huge advances in prenatal care and allowed intervention to become the standard of care at gestations that were considered incompatible with survival just 20-30 years ago. Infants born at 22-23 weeks of gestation, weighing 400-500 grams are now routinely admitted for intensive care intervention. Respiratory failure remains the primary cause of mortality and morbidity in extremely premature newborns, yet physiologic monitoring of respiratory status has not advanced since the introduction of oxygen saturation monitoring in the 1980s. The proposed tri-functional tube may provide value by continuously monitoring vital signs while simultaneously feeding and venting the extremely preterm infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), avoiding the need for skin-mounted sensors, which are an irritant to newborn skin and produce unreliable readings due to poor contact. Current healthcare costs to society potentially may be reduced using this tri-functional tube technology.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a tri-functional (feeding, venting, and sensing) tube for premature infants. This technology integrates three functionalities for the first time: delivering milk feeds to the stomach, venting excess gas from the stomach (a by-product of non-invasive modes of ventilation), and multifunctional vital sign monitoring such as electrocardiogram (ECG), transdiaphragmatic pressure, and body core temperature. The tri-functional tube design has evolved through multiple iterations based on clinical needs and engineering input. Extensive literature and product reviews, as well as testing results, have defined optimal sensor locations and configurations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.