Blockchain based medical device from NnBU set to raise €15million in ICO
NnBU announced it is set to raise €15million in an ICO for the world’s first neonatal birth unit, using blockchain technology, which will help deliver healthy outcomes for babies born by Caesarean-section (also known as C-section).
The conceptual design for the NnBU device has been completed and patented. The funds raised will be used to develop the machine and market it to hospitals and clinics internationally. This unique unit is designed to massage the torso of a C-section newborn and simulate the positive stresses of natural birth. As most C-section babies are born asleep, the NnBU device also focuses light on the baby’s fontanel in order to create a comfortable waking process for the newborn baby.
The inventors of the new medical device are working in partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute of Manufacturing, Engineering and Automation based in Stuttgart, Germany and medical device developers DMTpe.
It is estimated that 40 million C-section deliveries take place globally each year. The key factor when looking at this market is the extraordinary growth in the number of C-section births in recent decades. Figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) show that the average C-section rate in the 35-member countries was 19.8% in 2000 but had risen to 27.9% in 2015.
The NnBU baby care unit will incorporate three functions that will operate within the blockchain. The first will be a system to ensure that only suitably qualified medical staffers who have been trained in the use of the device will physically be able to operate it. The second will be the security feature which ensures that only qualified medical personnel will be able to carry out maintenance work on the device. Thirdly, the exact treatment received by each baby will be recorded, and subject to the permission of the parents and the laws on this sensitive subject, over time there will be an invaluable research tool relating to children who have had C-section deliveries.
