Ludhiana, June 30
In a rare achievement, a city physician has developed and patented a design with the help of his Delhi-based associate for the resuscitation of newborn babies. The two have been awarded a patent for meconium connector (Designer no. 190320 in class 24-01).
Dr Sukhmeet Singh, a child specialist, who did his post graduation from Dayanand Medical College here, said he had developed the connector with the help of Dr Ramesh Agarwal, currently working at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi. He said this meconium aspirator is a type of connector used for resuscitation of newborn babies who have passed stool inside mother’s womb. It helps in the resuscitation of babies after their birth. It is a reusable item and it helps in establishing connection between windpipe tube and the suction machine and one can control the amount of suction pressure needed.
He said around 102 million babies died each year in India as they failed to breathe properly after the birth. Babies passing stool while they are still in mother’s womb complicate birth process of many babies. This is a common problem and results in a number of complications in their early as well as later life. These babies need to have their windpipes cleared immediately after birth as dirty material sometimes blocks the air passage.
Hitherto, this kind of device was not available in India. So far, physicians were using different ways to clear the air passage, but without much success. This newly patented device will be useful for a number of such babies and help in postpartum management.
