Crib A'Glow is a portable solar-powered

phototherapy Light therapy, also called phototherapy or bright light therapy is intentional daily exposure to direct sunlight or similar-intensity artificial light in order to treat medical disorders, especially seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and circadi ...

unit that uses blue LED lights to treat infants with

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving abnormal heme meta ...

. The device was invented by

Virtue Oboro Virtue Oboro is a Nigerian entrepreneur, and co-founder of Tiny Hearts Technology. In 2016, she developed and launched Crib ‘A Glow, an LED-lit portable crib that treats jaundice utilizing solar energy, and patented the innovation in 2017. Vi ...

, a visual designer and mother whose newborn son had developed jaundice. Crib A'Glow has won multiple prizes for innovation.

Background

In 2015, Oboro's son developed symptoms of jaundice soon after birth. The nearby hospital had five phototherapy units; however, two were already in use and the other three were inoperable. Once he was in a phototherapy unit, a power outage led to him developing severe jaundice for which he received an emergency blood transfusion. Jaundice affects more than 60% of newborns throughout the world, with the most serious cases requiring phototherapy. In Nigeria, it is estimated that fewer than 5% of medical facilities have sufficient phototherapy devices to treat the condition. Approximately 100,000 infants die annually from jaundice, with many more experiencing permanent injuries. After Oboro's son recovered, she and her husband began their Tiny Hearts Technology company to work on the development of a portable crib that could use solar power to provide phototherapy to jaundiced infants.

Description

Oboro was assisted by her husband's experience with solar energy and a pediatrician who helped ensure the device met phototherapy guidelines and was safe. Manufactured in Nigeria and using local materials, Crib A'Glow is affordable, retailing at $360 compared to $2,000 for other phototherapy units used in Nigeria. Phototherapy devices used in developed countries have common side effects such as skin burns, dehydration, and rashes. Crib A'Glow avoids these side effects through the use of LED lights. The portable unit is particularly useful in remote areas where access to electricity can be limited or inconsistent. Crib A'Glow is in use at hundreds of hospitals in Nigeria and Ghana and has treated about 300,000 babies as of December 2021.

Awards

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

awarded Crib A'Glow $50,000 as one of six winners of its Champions of Science Africa Innovation Challenge 2.0. Tiny Hearts Technology, Oboro's company, received the third-place prize from the Africa Business Center of the United States Chamber of Commerce for its inaugural Digital Innovation Awards in 2020. The device was selected by the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

for the Africa Prize 2022 shortlist.

References

{{reflist , refs= {{cite news , publisher=Bizcommunity , date=September 5, 2019 , title=Champions of Science Africa Innovation Challenge announced , id={{ProQuest, 2284819722 {{cite web , last=Cairns , first=Rebecca , title=This Nigerian tech startup is fighting baby jaundice with solar-powered cribs , website=CNN , date=February 22, 2022 , url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/21/africa/nigeria-neonatal-jaundice-solar-power-crib-intl-hnk-spc/index.html , access-date=March 15, 2022 {{cite web , last=Griffin , first=Jo , title=Engineering the future: meet the Africa prize shortlist innovators , website=the Guardian , date=December 27, 2021 , url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/dec/27/engineering-the-future-meet-the-africa-prize-shortlist-innovators , access-date=March 15, 2022 {{cite web , last=Kangethe , first=Joseph , title=Great minds who won The 2022 African Prize for Engineering Innovation , website=The Exchange , date=February 2, 2022 , url=https://theexchange.africa/tech-business/african-prize-for-engineering-innovation/ , access-date=March 15, 2022 {{cite web , last=Rabbitt , first=Meghan , title=6 Entrepreneurs Whose Savvy Innovations Could Boost Healthcare Across Africa , website=Content Lab U.S. , date=September 5, 2019 , url=https://www.jnj.com/innovation/meet-the-healthcare-start-ups-that-won-the-africa-innovation-challenge-2-0 , access-date=March 15, 2022 {{cite web , title=2022 , website=Royal Academy of Engineering , date=December 3, 2021 , url=https://www.raeng.org.uk/global/sustainable-development/africa-prize/current-and-recent-awardees/2022 , access-date=March 15, 2022 , archive-date=March 17, 2022 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317222613/https://www.raeng.org.uk/global/sustainable-development/africa-prize/current-and-recent-awardees/2022 , url-status=dead {{cite web , title=Nigerian Mom Designs Solar-Powered Cribs That Put an End to Baby Jaundice Disease , website=The Scotfree , date=March 10, 2022 , url=https://thescotfree.com/health/nigerian-mom-designs-solar-powered-cribs-that-put-an-end-to-baby-jaundice-disease/ , access-date=March 15, 2022 {{Dead link, date=December 2023 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes {{cite news , publisher=Targeted News Service , date=December 5, 2020 , title=U.S. Chamber Recognizes Three Nigerian-Based Startups With Digital Innovation Awards at U.S.-Nigeria Digital Economy Conference , id={{ProQuest, 2467345742 Healthcare in Nigeria Medical technology