Fanem Debuts Hybrid Product at Hospitalar

It was a bittersweet moment at best.

When executives of Fanem Ltda. gathered at Hospitalar 2012 in São Paulo, Brazil, this past week to introduce the company’s latest neonatal product, one administrator was noticeably missing—the late Marlene Schmidt, the firm’s executive director who died on April 13. The moment Fanem introduced its Duetto 2386 to the world rightfully should have been Schmidt’s moment to shine.

Instead, it was a tribute of sorts to both Schmidt and the product she helped to develop. The Duetto 2386 Intensive Care unit is an infant incubator that doubles as a baby warmer. “We have a motto here at Fanem,” one of Fanem’s top executives said. “To be among the big ones, you have to take care of the little ones.”

The Duett 2386 takes care of little ones by improving clinicians’ ability to prevent infections among newborns. A heating system is located outside of the unit near the hood, strategically positioned to minimize the risk of contamination through slots when in incubation mode.

In addition to the heating unit, the hybrid incubator also features an adjustable bed that can be positioned to sitting level, furthering mother-baby contact. Its touchscreen control panel is embedded with a Windows-based software system (available in various languages) that suggests the best environment for the infant, recommending ideal air temperature, skin temperature and oxygen levels, Bruno B. Burin, Fanem’s product engineer, told Medical Product Outsourcing. He claims the Duetto 2386 is the first device of its kind to integrate pulse oxymetry parameters into its operating system.

Besides its Windows-based software, the incubator/warmer also is equipped with tiny adjustable light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that help treat infant jaundice, a condition common to pre-term babies. Burin said studies have shown the blue-ish LEDs can significantly help treat the condition.

Other features of the Duetto 2386 include safety audiovisual alarms, bidirectional air circulation and a low noise level (lower than 50 decibles).

Though the Duetto 2386 was officially unveiled during Hospitalar 2012, executives said the device would not immediately be released to the market. During an informal gathering of local and foreign media, one company bigwig deemed the incubator/ warmer’s debut as a “pre-launch.” No precise date for commercialization was given.

Founded in 1924, Fanem manufactures medical laboratory equipment. It boasts 85 percent of Brazil’s medical market share and exports to more than 90 countries worldwide. Last fall, the São Paulo-based firm opened a factory in Bangalore, India.

Fanem built its first infant incubator in 1954. Some of its more innovative products include the Koala crib, which features ergometric adjustment to help ease interaction between clinicians and mothers during infant procedures; the Stork Rover Transport Incubator, designed for the high risk transportation of premature babies or newborns, with serious diseases; and the Ampla, a neonatal ICU featuring a phototherapy system without loss of focus (even during mobility, the light remains in the same position). The Ampla also is billed as the first device capable of comprising scales, reverse phototherapy, direct phototherapy, X-ray, thermal mattress, without affecting individual features of each item.