Six million newborn do not receive the light therapy they need to breakdown the excess bilirubin in their blood when they develop severe cases of jaundice. They do not receive needed light therapy because this sort of treatment is usually delivered via large bulky tanks, at the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of equipped facilities, dedicated to maintaining and operating the equipment. It is essentially in response to this problematic situation that the Boston-based, Brigham & Women’s Hospital neonatologist, Dr. Donna Brezinski, developed the Bili-Hut™. The Bili-Hut™ is a portable, high-intensity phototherapy jaundice treatment device for neonates.
The Bili-Hut™, manufactured by Little Sparrows Technologies Inc., thus offers jaundice treatment at home or at the hospital, in a highly portable bassinet-type device that delivers high-intensity blue light therapy via the bassinet’s curved canopy of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The portability of the device is not only cost-effective in terms of reduced hospitalization costs, it also prevents interrupting the delicate bonding process between newborn infants and their mothers.
The Bili-Hut™ is also an invention that was granted the utility patent US9604072B2, titled Portable phototherapy device. The Bili-Hut™ is an improvement on the prior art, in that it is a portable and collapsible device. It does not require a special facility to operate. It is compatible with multiple sources of power (battery, photovoltaic or wired). Additionally, the device does not come into contact with the infant, which means that the infant remains accessible for care without restraints. The Bili-Hut™ is also inexpensive to manufacture, transport and ship. Thus, it is a device suited for use in the Third World.
The Abstract of this invention is included below, together with the patent Figure 1 drawing, and an image of a marketed embodiment of the Bili-Hut™. The patent Figure 1 depicts the shell or canopy (1) of the device, unlimited in shape, material or composition, as long as it is foldable (collapsible); the frame support (3) for the shell or canopy (1), also foldable or collapsible, the circuitry (7) comprising conductive means of transmitting useable energy from the power source to the light source, in particular, “switches, timers, rheostats, potentiometers, transformers, resistors, capacitors, sensors, data recorders, and any number and variety of specialized integrated circuits and components known in the art”; the power source (8), referring to “any source capable of providing useable energy of a sufficient quality and quantity to the light source of the phototherapy device, such that the light source emits a detectable amount of EMR (electromagnetic radiation)". The light source (inside the shell or canopy (1), depicted although unindexed in Figure 1, refers to "any source capable of emitting a detectable amount of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) of any range or specificity of wavelength”, depending on the specifics of the phototherapeutic treatment required, and the patient.
The Bili-Hut™ is also an invention that was granted the utility patent US9604072B2, titled Portable phototherapy device. The Bili-Hut™ is an improvement on the prior art, in that it is a portable and collapsible device. It does not require a special facility to operate. It is compatible with multiple sources of power (battery, photovoltaic or wired). Additionally, the device does not come into contact with the infant, which means that the infant remains accessible for care without restraints. The Bili-Hut™ is also inexpensive to manufacture, transport and ship. Thus, it is a device suited for use in the Third World.
The Abstract of this invention is included below, together with the patent Figure 1 drawing, and an image of a marketed embodiment of the Bili-Hut™. The patent Figure 1 depicts the shell or canopy (1) of the device, unlimited in shape, material or composition, as long as it is foldable (collapsible); the frame support (3) for the shell or canopy (1), also foldable or collapsible, the circuitry (7) comprising conductive means of transmitting useable energy from the power source to the light source, in particular, “switches, timers, rheostats, potentiometers, transformers, resistors, capacitors, sensors, data recorders, and any number and variety of specialized integrated circuits and components known in the art”; the power source (8), referring to “any source capable of providing useable energy of a sufficient quality and quantity to the light source of the phototherapy device, such that the light source emits a detectable amount of EMR (electromagnetic radiation)". The light source (inside the shell or canopy (1), depicted although unindexed in Figure 1, refers to "any source capable of emitting a detectable amount of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) of any range or specificity of wavelength”, depending on the specifics of the phototherapeutic treatment required, and the patient.
Disclosed is a portable phototherapy device capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength and intensity sufficient to obtain a desired phototherapeutic effect to a subject, without being in direct physical contact with said subject. The device is portable, capable of being flattened, folded, rolled, compressed, or otherwise collapsed, to a size Smaller than that of its operating size. The device may be of any size or shape, and may optionally comprise a frame support. The device may be powered by a variety of sources, including one or more batteries. The device may be configured to deliver electromagnetic radiation sufficient to obtain one or more of a variety of desired phototherapeutic effects. [Abstract US9604072B2]
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