Infant apnea prevention technology shown effective in clinical trial

A new vibration-based prevention technology tested in a NICU reduces apneic events and improves critical clinical parameters in prematurely born infants.

Scientists and clinicians at UMass Medical School, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have shown in a clinical trial that a new vibration-based prevention technology tested in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) reduces apneic events and improves critical clinical parameters in prematurely born infants. The apnea prevention system, initially conceived at UMass Medical School, was developed at the Wyss Institute and tested in a trial conducted at the BIDMC.

In the United States, one in nine infants is born prematurely and many are at higher risk for apnea of prematurity (AOP), typically defined as a prolonged pause in breathing of at least 20 seconds. In fact, such apneic episodes occur in more than 50 percent of infants born prior to 37 weeks and in almost every baby of very low birth weight. The episodes can be life threatening. Even if treated in NICUs, they can result in insufficient oxygen delivery to critical organs such as the brain, which is suspected to cause developmental delays and long-term cognitive deficits.