When the baby can not breathe

A baby's hands are so tiny--the entire hand can barely curl around one of the mom's fingers. The life of a baby is simultaneously a precious treasure given to people and a question: will you be able to keep it safe? It is not necessarily the fault of the parents when a baby gets sick. Weak immune system, congenital genetic defects or a sudden illness--there are many reasons for being admitted to the pulmonology unit. And when a baby cannot breathe properly, the specialized, extra-sensitive diagnostic equipment, made specifically for the youngest children, is vitally important. Otherwise, it is very difficult for the doctors to save those children's lives.

"A pulse oximeter (the patient's monitor)" is a piece of equipment which simultaneously monitors the heart rate and the oxygen saturation level of the blood. Pulse oximetry allows us to find out if the patient is in danger of not getting enough oxygen, and we can also see how the heart is able to handle its load. Pulse oximetry can be used both for a one-time measurement and continuously for 24 hours; the obtained data can be put into the computer so that the trends during the patient's hospitalization can be seen. There is also an alarm function on the monitor: the monitor will loudly alarm if either the heart rate or the oxygen saturation go outside the preset parameters. That means that a nurse doesn't have to stay 24/7 at the bedside of a seriously ill young child, and the mother can sleep at night without worrying that her child might suddenly stop breathing. If anything happens, the pulse oximeter will alarm, and its record will show what had happened up to that moment.

Our goal is to buy such a pulse oximeter with a neonatal and a pediatric sensor for the pediatric and pulmonology departments of the regional children's hospitals for three regions: the Kiev, the Sumi, and the Kirovograd regions. That will enable hundreds of children to get the help they need within the first 12 months of purchasing this equipment.