Infant mortality and morbidity due to motor vehicle crashes has significantly decreased since the use of infant restraint systems has become mandatory. However, the unique problems of the protection of low birth weight (LBW) and physically fragile infant occupants in automobile crashes has not been specifically addressed by either the government or industry. Increasing numbers of LBW infants are released annually from hospitals. Many of these infants require apnea monitors and are in danger of respiratory compromise when placed in the semi-reclined position. There is an immediate need for a car bed for this infant population to allow them to be transported in the prone of supine position. During a previous SBIR Phase I contract with the Department of Transportation (DOT), Hartley Associates, Inc. demonstrated the feasibility of the development of a car bed to fulfill this need. Additionally, this car bed provides the unique capability of securing the equipment necessary for physiological monitoring of apneic infants while it is in use in the vehicle. The purpose of this application to the National Institutes of Health is to request funding to further develop, test and evaluate this innovative device in order to bring it into the market place.
