LiquidHome
The goal of the liquid Home project is to develop a liquid incubator for premature infants in which the early premature phase (24th to 28th week of pregancy) can be bridged until the lungs, circulatory system and the central nervous system of the infant are sufficiently developed a life outside the uterus is more feasible and that the risk of impairments is limited.
The goal of the liquid Home project is to develop a liquid incubator for premature infants in which the early premature phase (24th to 28th week of pregancy) can be bridged until the lungs, circulatory system and the central nervous system of the infant are sufficiently developed a life outside the uterus is more feasible and that the risk of impairments is limited.
Annually about about 7% of all babies born in Germany (about 48.000) are delivered more than three weeks before the calculated date of birth.1
Usually, a pregnancy takes 40 weeks. After this period of time a new born is ready for a life outside the womb. If it is born too early it might suffer from the consequences or might not be able to survive. The risk correlates with the gestational age, the maturity of the lung, the central nervous system and the circulatory system being the most significant factors. If the infant is born before the 23rd week it is hardly able to survive. According to Germany guidelines, children receive a life sustaining treatment when they are born after the 24th week or later. At this point the survival rate is at about 60%2. Infants born between the 24th and 28th week are extremely preterm. These children have a difficult onset into life and are likely to suffer from the consequences of their early birth for their entire life. They weigh between 500 and 1000g at birth. In comparison, full term babies weigh 3200 g (girls) and 3300g (boys) on average. In Germany about 3600 children were born before the 28th week in 2008.3
3 BQS-Qualitätsreport 2008 BQS-Qualitätsreport 2008, Basisstatistik Geburtshilfe
