Incubators are medical devices that create ideal conditions for various growth processes and enable, for example, the healthy growth and care of sick newborns or premature infants via suitable climatic conditions. However, for infants and especially premature babies, treatment in an incubator is also associated with risks, especially an increased risk of infections, as all germs can spread more easily in the moist, warm environment of the incubator. In addition to such infant incubators, incubators used to store organic materials and grow bacteria or other cultures are also used in microbiology laboratories.
What is an incubator?
Incubators are medical devices that provide ideal conditions for the healthy growth and care of sick newborns or premature infants. Incubators provide controlled conditions in which certain growth processes become possible. In addition to incubators with constant high temperature and humidity, growing cabinets in medical laboratories are also referred to as incubators. These microbiological incubators are used to grow disease germs or to store blood and human tissue. In this context, the incubator for microbiology in itself occupies a high position. In the neonatal ward, air-conditioned and mobile incubators are used not only for the care of premature and seriously ill newborns, but also for their transport, and in this form they are also called transport incubators. Each type of medical incubator creates controlled and optimizable external conditions by allowing factors such as temperature within the equipment to be adjusted to a specific growth or incubation process. As technology has advanced, so has the incubator, and highly specialized and sophisticated incubators are now available for each application. The first incubator ever was developed in France in 1857 in the form of an incubator. In the USA, the incubator pioneer was Dr. Champion Deming, who nursed the first incubator baby Edith Eleanor McLean in the box in 1888. However, the technology of that time cannot be compared with the technology of today’s incubators and microbiological incubators. For example, Deming’s infant incubator was still heated with 57 liters of water.
Function, effect and goals
The function of medical incubators is to generate ideal growth conditions and thus support a growth process. Infant incubators are among the best known incubators. In connection with newborns, for example, transport incubators are also frequently used to facilitate the interhospital transfer of a premature or critically ill baby. Such transport may be necessary if the baby is to be transferred from the place of birth to a more specialized hospital that is more likely to meet its needs. Usually, the transport in this scenario is performed as part of a baby emergency ambulance service. The newborn is in the baby emergency ambulance inside the transport incubator, which is both mobile and allows the baby to be loaded as safely, hygienically and quickly as possible. Like all infant incubators, transport incubators are heated and oxygenated. In some circumstances, a respiratory bag is also connected to the incubator to provide a permanent supply of oxygen to critically ill newborns. In addition to the conventional transport incubator, intensive care transport incubators are also available, which are used in particular for newborns with endangered vital functions. This special type of box is equipped with intensive care connections for a suction device or infusion pump. In addition, monitors for monitoring body functions can be connected to this form of incubator. Microbiology incubators differ from infant incubators or transport incubators in that, first, they do not necessarily have to be mobile and, second, they often cool as well and accurately as they warm. Microbiology incubators are thus used in particular for storing organic samples, but are also used for growing bacteria or incubating other live cultures.
Risks, side effects and hazards
For newborns, incubator therapy involves some risks.Babies depend on a relatively constant body temperature, although incubator treatment cannot completely guarantee this temperature constancy in some cases. Therefore, the infant must be regularly checked for body temperature, which is ideally measured rectally. Hypothermia, or cooling of the newborn, can occur. On the other hand, hyperthermia, i.e. overheating of the baby, can also occur. As a result of overheating, the infant loses a lot of fluid, so electrolyte disturbances may occur. Hyperventilation or tachycardia cannot be ruled out either. As a rule, the correct temperature can be set and adjusted with modern devices via the skin temperature control. However, especially for extremely premature babies with generally high fluid loss through the skin, newborns in shock or babies with infections, the measured value for the skin temperature may be falsified or temperature changes of the young patient can hardly be traced. In addition, the oxygen supply in an incubator can also be associated with risks for a newborn. In the case of undersupply due to incorrect measurement results, apnea and ultimately brain damage can occur. In premature infants, overdoses of oxygen can also occur due to measurement errors, possibly damaging the newborn’s eyes. Because oxygen increases the risk of fire, staff must also be careful to eliminate sources of fire in the immediate vicinity of the incubator. Fire sources in this context could arise, for example, from highly flammable material placed on the incubator. Apart from this, the humid and warm temperature in the infant incubator represents an ideal breeding ground for germs and can therefore sometimes be associated with an increased risk of infection for the baby.
