Medical device offers promise for NICU and beyond

The gravity feed syringe holder was recently awarded the Cool Ideas Award which is sponsored by Cleveland Clinic Innovations and Protolabs.

Currently, depending on the number of newborn babies and how often they feed, a nurse can spend hours each day holding a syringe above an incubator whilst milk or liquid formula drains into the baby via a stomach tube.

Therefore, the news of a gravity feed syringe holder which is able to simplify the feeding of newborn babies is likely to be welcomed. The device has been announced by non-profit, community-based health system, MedStar Health, and is suitable for newborn babies who are spending their early days in special, temperature-controlled incubators whilst being cared for in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

The device can hold four different sizes of syringes and was designed to be suspended from the top of the incubator or attached to an intravenous pole - thus expanding its use outside the NICU.

The innovation was submitted by registered nurse, Tiffany Morris to MedStar Institute for Innovation. The organization, realizing the device’s potential, then selected the product for further development. The device is currently being piloted at MedStar Franklin Square and is the subject of a patent application.