Masimo, Newborn Foundation Partner to Reduce Newborn Mortality

Masimo has launched its iSpO₂ Rx Pulse Oximeter with M-LNCS connector, enabling adhesive sensor use on newborns for screening with mobile devices in low-resource settings. iSpO₂ Rx features Masimo SET technology — shown through studies to be  accurate during challenging conditions and proven to help clinicians identify life-threatening conditions in newborns.

iSpO₂ Rx, available outside the United States, provides oxygen saturation (SpO₂), pulse rate (PR), and perfusion index (PI) results from an iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and soon on select mobile devices for Android. iSpO₂ Rx is the lynchpin of an ongoing collaboration with the Newborn Foundation and marks the debut of the BORN Project — Birth Oximetry Routine for Newborns — the first global health initiative to reduce infant mortality through earlier detection of illness, disease and congenital birth defects through access to mobile-enabled technology that measures blood-oxygen levels in newborns. Until now, available pulse oximeters in low-resource settings have been inaccurate, lacked the ability to use adhesive sensors required for screening newborns, and were unable to simply and wirelessly transfer test results.

Globally, about 3.3 million newborns die within the first month of life, with neonatal infection, sepsis, pneumonia and birth defects among the major killers, according to the World Health Organization. The BORN Project was developed to help reduce neonatal mortality by deploying accessible and effective mobile technology that targets the early detection of several major causes of newborn death. Clinical studies have shown that pulse oximetry screening can help detect conditions such as pneumonia, early-onset sepsis, neonatal infection and pulmonary hypertension in addition to congenital heart defects.

“This check of oxygen levels in newborns is among the most effective health measures that can be deployed to reduce newborn mortality,” said Annamarie Saarinen, co-founder and chairwoman of the Newborn Foundation. “We saw how valuable this is firsthand, while in the Philippines during Typhoon Haiyan. We’re very excited to be partnering with Masimo and public health to deploy this technology and advance its use as part of routine newborn care.”

“From a public health perspective, neonatal infection, sepsis and pneumonia can all be treated more effectively if the conditions are detected early,” said Darshak Sanghavi, M.D., fellow and managing director, Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. “Incorporating routine pulse oximetry as a universal ‘vital sign’ in newborns could be an important global life-saving tool.”

“Through the BORN Project, Masimo helps clinicians — especially those working in low-resource areas of the world — gain access to Masimo SET iSpO₂ Rx,” said Masimo founder and CEO Joe Kiani.

iSpO₂ Rx utilizes the Masimo SET Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry technology cited in more than 100 independent and objective studies and used on more than 100 million hospitalized patients annually. Compared with other pulse oximeters, Masimo SET provides measurements specifically validated during patient motion and low perfusion, both common in newborns. Moreover, Masimo SET pulse oximetry has been shown to help clinicians reduce retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)² in neonates, and effectively screen newborns for congenital heart disease.

iSpO₂ Rx also features a downloadable and upgradeable iSpO₂ Rx App, ensuring clinicians have the latest telemedicine technologies at their fingertips. iSpO₂ Rx can store and email up to 12 hours of measurement history in a global standard .CSV file format. iSpO₂ Rx with the M-LNCS connector are compatible with Masimo adhesive and reusable sensors, and are designed to be used in neonatal, infant, pediatric, and adult patients.