Implications of a Novel, Fast, Portable Treatment for Neonatal Jaundice
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Implications of a Novel, Fast, Portable Treatment for Neonatal Jaundice

Contents Introduction Readmissions Separate Mother and Baby, Lead to High Costs Innovative Design Real-World Results Case Study Comparison to Competing Technologies Quality Improvement Advantages for Payers, Providers and Parents About Little Sparrows Technologies

Much of the innovation in medicine comes when doctors, during their regular duties, spot opportunities to deliver treatments more effectively and in the process transform care and cut costs. Little Sparrows Technologies founder Dr. Donna Brezinski, a Harvardtrained neonatal specialist, noticed that jaundice treatment in newborns led to additional days in the hospital, interfered with maternal-newborn bonding, and ultimately cost more money than was necessary. The treatment for jaundice was fairly straightforward and most of the babies were otherwise healthy. Did treatment need to occur in...

About half of newborns affected with jaundice requiring phototherapy are already home from the hospital when they are diagnosed. (6) This results in as many as 200,000 readmissions for jaundice annually in the United States. Neonatal jaundice is one of the top causes of readmissions in newborns in the US, responsible for more than 1/3 of all rehospitalizations in the first month of life. (12) Jaundice readmissions can cost $10,000 or more per hospital stay (13), representing an estimated $1.5 to $2 billion in healthcare costs each year. Moreover, readmission separates the mother from her...

To address this need, Dr. Brezinski founded Little Sparrows Technologies, which aims to transform neonatal jaundice treatment with bili·hut™, a patented, award-winning, FDA-cleared phototherapy device providing hospital-intensity phototherapy at the mother’s side. The device is simple to use, collapsible for easy transport, and energy-efficient enough to be capable of operating on battery power. Innovative Design Breakthrough curved light design treats more skin surface area The bili·hut features a unique, flexible, LEDilluminated canopy that is curved to form an arc of light enveloping the...

Real-World Results Case Study High Efficacy in a Small Package Preventing Neonatal Jaundice Readmission Infant receiving bili·hut phototherapy home treatment at parents' bedside. (Photo used with permission.) Successful home treatment of a case of neonatal jaundice. Baby A had blood-type incompatibility with the mother, leading to a rapid destruction of red blood cells and an increase in bilirubin. Infants with this type of jaundice are most often treated in the NICU. The dotted red line (trend) and yellow circles (bilirubin level) denote the course of Baby A’s bilirubin levels over time....

Phototherapy with bili·hut helps newborns recover faster from jaundice In this series of 9 bili·hut phototherapy home treatments, the percent bilirubin decrease over time is compared to reported rates with inpatient treatment using neoBLUE® and neoBLUE® cozy (Natus), Skylife™ (NeoLight) and BiliSoft (GE) phototherapy devices. (1517) In contrast to home care with bili·hut managed by parents, competitor device data is from hospital studies where infant placement and device use was managed by nurses. On average, home treatment with bili·hut was completed in 12 hours, while inpatient treatment...

Advantages for Payers, Providers and Parents Phototherapy treatment with bili·hut creates the potential for significant savings by lowering the cost of jaundice management throughout the care pathway. This includes reductions in outpatient encounters, emergency room visits, lab testing, and hospital readmissions. With these advantages in mind, third-party payers can incentivize home treatment of jaundice, with substantial savings. For cases of jaundice diagnosed before the infant has been discharged from birth hospitalization, bili·hut also allows better allocation of healthcare personnel...

About Little Sparrows Technologies Founded in 2013 by two Harvard Medical School-affiliated doctors, Donna Brezinski MD and Gary Gilbert MD, Little Sparrows Technologies offers an innovative approach for the treatment of neonatal jaundice. In addition to the bili·hut, the company offers additional products for jaundice management including the bili·ruler™ jaundice screening tool. Awards and Recognition Little Sparrows Technologies has been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions. The company received a 2018 Patents for Humanity Award from the US Patent and Trademark Office. The...

References (1) Keren R, Tremont K, Luan X, Cnaan A. Visual assessment of jaundice in term and late preterm infants. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2009;94 (5):F317-F322 (2) Bhutani VK, Vilms RJ and Hamerman-Johnson L. Universal bilirubin screening for severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. J Perinatol, 2010. 30 Suppl: p. S6-1 (3) Kaplan M, Maisels MJ. Natural history of early neonatal bilirubinemia: a global perspective. J Perinatol. 2021 Apr;41(4):873-878. doi: 10.1038/s41372-020-00901-x. Epub 2021 Jan 4. PMID: 33398058. (4) Maisels MJ. Managing the jaundiced newborn: a persistent...