Wasie Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Equipment to Help Us Care for Your Baby

In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) we have many different kinds of equipment to help us care for your baby. All of the machines have different types of alarms that the staff recognizes by tone. Our staff is well-trained and recognizes the importance of each alarm and will respond appropriately — including communicating to the parents what the alarm signifies. Your questions and concerns are important to us and we are here to help.

Below is a list of some commonly used equipment and a brief description of what the equipment is used for.

Bili Lights
Bili lights are used for a condition called jaundice, a yellowing of the skin due to a substance that collects in the blood of many newborns. The baby is placed under the lights wearing only a diaper and eye patches to protect them from the lights.

Cardiac-Respiratory Monitor
A cardiac-respiratory monitor has small wires, or chest leads, taped to the baby's chest. These leads monitor the baby's heart rate, rhythm and respiration. The monitor will sound an alarm if the baby's heart rate or respiration are below or above the normal range.

Chest Leads
Chest leads are round, sticky patches with long green, black and white wires that are connected to the cardiac-respiratory monitor.

Chest Physiotherapy (CPT)
CPT is performed by using a small vibrator over the lungs to help loosen secretions that are then removed by suctioning.

CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure)
CPAP is delivered by a ventilator via nasal prongs and provides positive pressure at the end of expiration for infants who breathe spontaneously, but whose tiny air sacs in the lungs tend to collapse at the end of a breath.

Dynamap Monitor
This equipment is used to monitor blood pressure with the aid of a cuff on the arms or legs.

Endotracheal Tube (ET Tube)
An ET tube is a very small plastic tube inserted in a baby's windpipe and attached
to a ventilator to keep the airway open and to deliver air and oxygen to your baby.

Feeding Tube
A feeding tube, or OG, NG or gavage tube, is a tiny tube inserted into a baby's nose or mouth and down into the stomach. Formula, breast milk and medicines can be given through the feeding tube, and it is how babies are fed until they are strong enough to suck from a breast or bottle. It may also be used to remove air from the stomach. A feeding tube is not as uncomfortable for a baby as it seems because babies do not have a strong gag reflex.

Isolette (Incubator)
An isolette, or incubator, is a specially heated bed with transparent plastic. The isolette provides a controlled warm environment for maintenance of normal core temperatures. Air temperature is controlled by a sensor attached to the baby's skin. Babies stay in an isolette until they are 1650 grams and stable.

IV Pump
An IV pump is attached to a pole by your baby's bed. The pump sends fluids into the baby's IV site at an exact rate and if the baby is unable to eat, will provide the nutrients needed.

Nasal Cannula
A nasal cannula is a slender plastic tube with openings to deliver oxygen through the nose. It offers the least restriction for the infant's visual, motor and auditory environments.

Oral Nasal Gastric Tubes
These tubes are used for feeding pre-term infants who are younger than 34 weeks, before the sucking reflex is present. It is used in CPAP therapy to relieve air in the stomach, and it is used after abdominal surgery to drain fluids from the stomach.

Peripheral Intravenous Access
This equipment is used when the umbilical catheter is no longer available for fluid infusions. One method uses a short plastic catheter in a vein in the hand, arm, leg, foot or scalp. Another method is called deep venous access and is used for long-term fluid therapy, referred to as a PICC line. This is used to deliver medication and nutrients to an infant and to supply an infant's body with energy.

Pulse Oximeter (SAT Monitor)
The pulse oximeter uses a light source and detector to measure oxygenated blood at the skin level. A probe is placed on the baby's hand or foot and secured with a tape-like strip of material.

Radiant Warmer
A radiant warmer is a bed that helps regulate a baby's temperature. A probe taped to the baby's skin tells the bed how much heat to use, which in turn allows the NICU staff to constantly monitor the temperature.

Saturation Monitor
A saturation monitor guages how much oxygen is in the baby's blood. It is connected to a baby by a probe that is wrapped around the foot or arm and has a red light that is visible for viewing.

Suction Devices
Suction Catheters — Long slender tubes connected to a vacuum that pull secretions from the nose, mouth or ET tube.

Nasal Aspirators — Round, bulb-like plastic or glass tubes that are connected to a vacuum to aid in removing secretions.

Bulb Syringes — Rubber, tear-drop-shaped devices with an opening at the smaller end to remove secretions.

Umbilical Catheter
An arterial or venous umbilical catheter allows the NICU staff to draw blood by going into an artery or a vein in the baby's belly button. The catheter can also be used to give fluid or blood to the baby, if needed.

Ventilator (Respirator)
The ventilator is used for infants who do not have sufficient vigor to breathe independently. It delivers oxygen and a rate of breaths per minute via a tube (endotracheal tube or ET tube) placed in the infant's trachea or airway.

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