Project and development of equipment for neonatal phototherapy based on corrugated optical fiber

• Grant number: 97/07515-1
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: January 01, 1998
• End date: September 30, 2000
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Cicero Livio Omegna de Souza Filho
• Grantee: Cicero Livio Omegna de Souza Filho
• Company: KOM Montagens e Comércio Ltda

Abstract

Physiological jaundice is the most commonly found problem in the neonatal period, affecting 30 to 50 per cent of new-born babies. Around 10 per cent of these children need phototherapeutic treatment, by present-day standards. The light-emitting devices used for this treatment can be essentially of three types: using a fluorescent bulb, a halogen bulb mounted on a spot type reflector, and a cold light emitting manta using optical fiber. The proposed phototherapeutic device uses modified optical fiber consisting of a light radiating blanket that will be in contact with new-born child experiencing a high degree of bilirubinaemia. The light guide to be used in the construction of the manta is of the multimode step index type, with a PMMA nucleus and a Teflon skin. The present proposal uses commercially available optical fiber, and the technological innovation lies in the use of a mechanical process to alter the total internal reflection and producing controlled lateral light emission. The fibers will emit light through the skin inside the blanket. In the project’s first phase, mechanical devices and tools were built that produce controlled corrugations on the surface of the fibers and tests were carried out on fibers of different diameters and of different materials. In the second phase, the product itself was developed, which is in the final phases of testing. (AU)