Phase-change incubator
Encyclopedia
The phase-change incubator is a low-cost, low-maintenance incubator to help test for microorganism
s in water supplies. It uses small balls containing a chemical compound that, when heated and then kept insulated, will stay at 37°C (approx. 99°F) for 24 hours.
This allows cultures to be tested without the need for a laboratory or an expensive portable incubator. Thus it is particularly useful for poor or remote communities.
The phase-change incubator was developed in the late 1990s by Amy Smith
, when she was a graduate student at MIT. Smith has also started a non-profit organization called A Drop in the Bucket to distribute the incubators and train people to use them for testing water quality.
Embrace
, an organization that came out of Stanford University, is applying a similar concept to design low-cost incubators for premature and low birth weight
babies in developing countries.
Microorganism
A microorganism or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters, or no cell at all...
s in water supplies. It uses small balls containing a chemical compound that, when heated and then kept insulated, will stay at 37°C (approx. 99°F) for 24 hours.
This allows cultures to be tested without the need for a laboratory or an expensive portable incubator. Thus it is particularly useful for poor or remote communities.
The phase-change incubator was developed in the late 1990s by Amy Smith
Amy B. Smith
Amy Smith is an American inventor, educator, and founder of at . She works to develop technologies and build creative capacity internationally.-Early life and education:...
, when she was a graduate student at MIT. Smith has also started a non-profit organization called A Drop in the Bucket to distribute the incubators and train people to use them for testing water quality.
Embrace
Embrace (incubator)
The Embrace incubator was a concept developed by a class called Entrepreneurial Design For Extreme Affordability. It uses Phase Change Material in a sleeping bag design to maintain temperature inside the incubator entirely without electricity, making it well-suited to rural areas...
, an organization that came out of Stanford University, is applying a similar concept to design low-cost incubators for premature and low birth weight
Low birth weight
Low birth weight is defined as a birth weight of a liveborn infant of less than 2,500 g. regardless of gestational age-Causes:LBW is either the result of preterm birth or of the infant being small for gestational age , or a combination of...
babies in developing countries.