Mikayla Feil - Neobud

Neobud was a year long senior project where I researched how infants face life in the NICU and the effects on the nurses and family related to the infant. I was interested in this topic because I have a personal connection to a current NICU nurse. I spoke to her about how these infants would thrive more if they had the proper comfort tools in the NICU.

What is the Nicu?

Infants who are born prematurely tend to have many medical issues due to the fact that they were not fully developed in the womb before they were born. They could be born as early as 22 weeks compared to a normal 40 week pregnancy. Some issues that can come with an infant being born prematurely or issues that occur in many infants in the NICU could be challenges with sucking, swallowing, and breathing, or even coordinating those activities together. The stay in the NICU could range from just a few hours to many months. Due to these issues, they must be monitored constantly with external devices to help them grow effectively and safely outside of the womb. This can be a very invasive experience for the infant and traumatic to view for the family.

This image shows the difference in development from a premature infant to a full term infant in their brain. If this is the difference in brain development, we can assume that all other parts of the body are also this underdeveloped.

Research/Interviews

Affinity Mapping

Rose/Bud/Thorn

Key Takeaway Components

Market Research

initial sketch Ideation

brainstorm Session and Prototyping

Brainstorming session

Swaddle

Textured Ring

'Hands'

Brainstorming session

Top Ideas

Initial Ideation Feedback

I got feedback from both an occupational therapist and a nurse. The occupational therapist was able to give me a very different viewpoint that I was excited to hear. She agreed that items need to be easily cleaned so they can be germ free so she directed me away from anything cloth. She leaned toward the handheld device but to take away the vibration from it. Essentially she felt that a product that had the bare minimum would be best to avoid overstimulating the infants if the nurses walk away and forget to shut off a device. The nurse that I interviewed again also said that the 'hand' idea had the most potential to become a NICU device. She said to avoid textures as some infants do not like textured items. She also said to focus on the 'finger sizes' and have a variety to try out. I will also need to think about safety when I move onto prototyping.

initial Cad Ideation