Brighton and I are nearly ready to present our designs to nurses and physicians at Queen’s, and I am interested to see what they think! One simply has 3 LEDs for cold, normal, and hot. This is the simplest model. It would be the easiest and cheapest to build, but it also gives the least amount of information. The second model has a seven-segment display that gives the temperature readout, but does not tell the user if the temperature is too low or too high for a neonate. This is in the middle in terms of material cost, but it is the most difficult to build. However, the actual temperature display is the clearest of the three options. The third model has an LCD which displays both the temperature and the word “COLD”, “Normal”, or “HOT”, depending on the temperature of the neonate. It also has a buzzer, which beeps when the temperature is too low or too high. This design has the highest cost for parts, but it also gives the most information of the three. However, the LCD is harder to read from far away than the 7-segement display.

In addition to designs for temperature display, we will be bringing designs for ways that the temperature sensor interacts with the neonate. These designs will include a backpack (similar to the KMC monitor), a belt, a hat, a sticker, and a color-change dot (similar to the ThermoSpot* ). They are made of different materials (plastic, cloth, and paper), each of which have benefits and pitfalls. We hope that by presenting a variety of options, we will be able to gain a better understanding of what the doctors and nurses want out of a device that enters their wards.

Preparing these prototypes has been a very interesting experience. Going into it, I had never coded in Arduino, designed circuits, or soldered. In order to finish in time, Brighton and I had to divide work. Because he is studying electrical engineering, he worked on circuit design while I primarily worked on code for the 7-segment display and LCD. It started slow, but after much help from Matt, Tahir, and Google, I eventually developed codes that correctly controlled both displays. Next, Brighton and I transitioned from breadboards to protoboards, which require soldering. Brighton taught me how to solder and I successfully completed the simplest of the three boards (the LED circuit). I enjoyed working with and learning from Brighton, and I look forward to receiving feedback!

 

*An interesting letter to the editor of the Lancet written by a doctor who used the ThermoSpot in the northern region of Malawi can be found here.