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The view from a 787 window on our initial trip to Vietnam after Firefly's implementation.
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Hanoi in December, still 75 degrees F.
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Parents transport their child on the standard Vietnamese method of transit, a motorbike.
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“Le Bao Chan, the first infant we treated, was the most surprising case of the four infants we have treated so far. His bilirubin level was very high, and I didn’t think it could be reduced in such a short time. Usually we wait for 24 hours before we will even take another blood test, but he was looking so good after 12 hours that we had the test and his levels looked good! I would have expected treatment to take 48 hours instead of just 17!”
- Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Lo, National OBGYN Hospital
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“The rooms here are too small to fit an overhead phototherapy along with all those beds. However, Firefly is small enough that it could fit on the bed. When babies receive phototherapy they cry a lot which is disturbing, so it would be great to keep them in a room with their mothers so they could be comforted.”
- Dr. Thai Bang Giang, St. Paul General Hospital
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“The life expectancy of Firefly is 5 years. That’s why I believe the price for Firefly should be as much as 2x more than a fluorescent overhead phototherapy worth 20M VND. Every 4-5000 hours we must change the bulbs for the overheads.”
- Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Loi, NICU Director, National OBGYN Hospital
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“Mother care is better than nurse’s care because there are not enough nurses to cover all the infant care needs. The nurses can teach the mother how to check simple vital signs such as whether they are crying, if they are feeding and sleeping well, and if they seem too hot or too cold.”
- Nurse, Hai Duong Provincial Hospital
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“I don’t like to treat multiple babies with one device. I think that putting many babies together can cause cross-infection.”
- Dan Thuy Quynh, Nurse, St. Paul General Hospital
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“Firefly is easy to use. Since many many people use the device, this is very important.”
- Dr. Le Minh Trac, National OBGYN Hospital
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“The baby fits well in Firefly: there is not much space which is good because the baby feels more comfortable feeling boundaries. That’s a disadvantage with an incubator because the baby doesn’t feel close to something.”
- Nurse Vu Thi Huong, National OBGYN Hospital
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“We use a light meter to monitor the levels on all of the phototherapy. If the level sink below 10, then we request a change of the bulb. Fluorescent bulbs need to be changed every 1.5-2 months.”
- Tran Bac Giang, Equipment Technician, National OBGYN Hospital
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“We feel Firefly is easier to use than overhead phototherapy because we can put a blanket on top of the baby and still provide effective phototherapy from the bottom. Overhead phototherapy could be set at the wrong distance from the infant bed and it’s more cumbersome to use”
- Dr. Tran Van Thuan, Hai Duong Provincial Hospital
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“Having Firefly in the mother’s room would be great for mother’s nursing and monitoring the baby. It’s very obvious that putting baby with the mom creates a better relationship between the two.”
- Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Loi, NICU Director, National OBGYN Hospital
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“The overhead phototherapy systems are tall, so you can’t clean on top of them or even see if they are dirty. Bugs can get inside the overhead units. Firefly is very small and easy to clean.”
- Dr. Nguyen Thanh Ha, NICU Director, National OBGYN Hospital
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“One way I like Firefly better than overhead phototherapy is that the bed helps the baby stay in one place.”
- Ngu Thi Minh Loan, Nurse, St. Paul General Hospital
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“Other machines that mothers are using cause alot of noise. Firefly is very quiet so I can lay down and sleep very easily next to my baby. I really prefer it”
- Nguyen Thu Tuyet, Mother, Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children
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A worker at a local Hanoi powder coating shop arranges parts to be powder coated and placed in the oven.
© Design that Matters and used with permission.
An extrusion die at a factory in Vietnam, which later produced the Firefly top light extrusion.
© Design that Matters and used with permission.
“If an overhead phototherapy was selling for 20M VND, then I would say Firefly would be priced at 30M VND because it is so much more effective and it prevents cross-infection.”
- Dan Thuy Quynh, Nurse, St. Paul General Hospital
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“If phototherapy could be used in mom’s room, I think it would be less work for the nurses. If the baby is not with Mom, the nurses must feed them every 3 hours. If Mom was with her baby, she could also tell the nurses if there was any kind of problem with the baby.”
- Dan Thuy Quynh, Nurse, St. Paul General Hospital
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“If I were to rank the donations we would benefit from at this point in time, I would rank Firefly first, then another CPAP, then general facility improvements.”
– Dr. Khuat Thanh Binh, Moc Chau District Hospital
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“If an overhead phototherapy was selling for 20M VND, then I would say Firefly would be priced at 30M VND because it is so much more effective and it prevents cross-infection.”
- Dan Thuy Quynh, Nurse, St. Paul General Hospital
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“Returning babies quickly to their mothers is important because they go back to breastfeeding earlier. Babies are happier with their mothers. The work then becomes easier for us; the fewer babies we have in here, the better!”
- Pham Thanh Hien, Nurse, National OBGYN Hospital
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“I am very happy! This is the first time I have been able to be with him since he was born”
- Nguyen Thu Tuyet, Mother, Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children
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“The mother-baby care initiative was started for 2 reasons. First, we have a very low level of staff. Second, it’s much better for the infants to stay with their mothers for contact and breastfeeding.”
- Dr. Trung Thi Nhu Huen, Da Nang Women and Children’s Hospital
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“Overall I like Firefly. The top three things I like about it are (1) that the device is effective and (2) it looks beautiful and neat, and (3) it fits only one baby preventing cross-infection.”
- Dr. Pham Do Ngoc Diep, NICU Director, St. Paul General Hospital
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“We have been using phototherapy in mom’s room for 5 years. In the past we have had to treat the infant next to mom’s bed, this is better with Firefly because we can treat them in mom’s bed.”
- Dr. Truong Thi Nhu Huyen, Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children
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“I like Firefly because I can lay next next to my baby, and always be with him. Before I wasnt able to be with my baby, and worried if he was ok.”
- Nguyen Thu Tuyet, Mother, Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children
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“Treatment with mom is better. It allows mom to be with her baby, and let the nurses deal with more severe cases.”
- Dr. Truong Thi Nhu Huyen, Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children
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“I preferred when baby Chuyen was receiving treatment from Firefly compared with the overhead and bilibed because the light is more intense. The machine just looks good, and I think the focused light would be better for the baby, but that is just my opinion.”
- Dang Thi Hanh, Grandmother, Moc Chau District Hospital
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“Other machines that mothers are using cause alot of noise. Firefly is very quiet so I can lay down and sleep very easily next to my baby. I really prefer it”
- Nguyen Thu Tuyet, Mother, Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children
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“The number of exchange blood transfusions at St. Paul Hospital has decreased over the years since the introduction of more modern, efficient LED phototherapy.”
- Dr. Pham Do Ngoc Diep, NICU Director, St. Paul General Hospital
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“Firefly is very small and portable. It is very easy to move between patient floors.”
- Nguyen Thanh Tien, Nurse, Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children
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“Firefly is easier to clean than the Bilibed because it’s plastic, while the Bilibed has crevasses and is made of leather, so it never quite feels clean. We use a wet cloth to wipe down the overheads while we use a chloramine disinfectant to clean the Bilibed and Firefly because we don’t have enough alcohol.”
- Cam, Head Nurse, St. Paul General Hospital
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“It looks beautiful and attracts your eyes... Like art.”
- Dr. Truong Thi Nhu Huyen, Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children
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“During these past months, I have noticed that with Firefly, moms never make a mistake in using it. With the Bilibed, the head is often where the feet should be which blocks more of the light.”
– Dang Van Tai, Head Nurse, Moc Chau District Hospital
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“Firefly creates a safe condition for the patient. The shape is like a bird’s nest wrapping the infant and comforting him. With overhead phototherapy, the baby just feels like they are out in space and the light is hanging over them. In Firefly, the baby feels very safe and families and doctors feel comfortable.”
– Dr. Khuat Thanh Binh, Moc Chau District Hospital
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“I like Firefly because I can lay next next to my baby, and always be with him. Before I wasnt able to be with my baby, and worried if he was ok.”
- Nguyen Thu Tuyet, Mother, Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children
© Design that Matters and used with permission.
“It is much better to allow mom to hold and be with her baby.”
- Hoang Thi Thanh Tam, Head Nurse, Da Nang Hospital for Women & Children
