As of November 2018, the Firefly phototherapy device has treated more than 200,000 newborns in 25 countries. This year marks the first Firefly installations in Indonesia and Jamaica.
Firefly Treats Newborns More Rapidly
A two-year study comparing Firefly phototherapy treatment to standard single-sided phototherapy devices showed an increase in the hourly rate of bilirubin reduction by 54%, and a reduction in newborn treatment time by 21%. Firefly’s faster treatment saves hospital costs and allows babies to go home with their parents that much earlier.
Finding Baby Khang
On a field research trip in 2012, we met a very sick newborn whose severe jaundice couldn’t be treated with conventional phototherapy. After two days of treatment with Firefly, baby Khang was out of danger and on his way to perfect health. His exhausted but happy parents invited us to follow them home from the hospital.
We just returned to the same village in Vietnam, going door-to-door through the narrow alleys in the hopes of finding the family. Meeting baby Khang as a four-year-old was a powerful reminder of why DtM exists.
Firefly is Brighter!
Ever since Firefly entered production in 2012, DtM partner MTTS has continued to iterate and improve upon the original design. The latest model Firefly has taken a huge leap in clinical intensity: 50% brighter intensity from above the baby, and almost double the intensity from below.
Learn how we validate phototherapy intensity, and what brighter lights means for treating jaundiced newborns and for the design of our Otter newborn warmer!
Evaluating Firefly's Impact
DtM donor brings Firefly home to Vietnam
Firefly: 50,000 Newborns Treated!
DtM’s Firefly and Otter bring home the trophies
Firefly’s long journey to Bac Giang, Vietnam
Global health research group finds an unmet need for cost-effective diagnosis and treatment of neonatal jaundice
Myanmar study finds that high-intensity phototherapy can reduce exchange transfusion rates among newborns
A recently published study (Arnolda et al., BMC Pediatrics, 2015) demonstrates the impact of high-intensity phototherapy in averting the need for costly and dangerous exchange transfusions among...
You Asked, We Listened: New Firefly Case Study Highlights DtM’s Design Process
In the past, we’ve offered summaries of our product design process, for example in a TED talk (960K views) and our “Better by Design” paper in the Innovations Journal...
Myanmar Jaundice Study Reveals Different, More Severe Disease in Developing Countries
Firefly, Now in 18 Countries Worldwide
A Great Year for Firefly: 2014 Stats
DtM Firefly on CCTV America’s Full Frame
Firefly Receives CE Mark Certification
Firefly in Africa!
Firefly has been saving lives in Ghana and Burundi for almost six months. DtM partner East Meets West Foundation (an affiliate of Thrive Networks), installed Firefly at hospitals across all levels of care in Ghana...
DtM Team Delivers Firefly to Saint Boniface Hospital in Haiti
The Design that Matters team just returned from an incredibly productive field research trip bringing our Pelican Newborn Pulse Oximeter prototypes to Haiti...
Firefly Goes to Haiti!
Firefly is now in Haiti! DtM's award-winning phototherapy device will be in use at two Haitian hospitals: Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais in Mirebalais, Haiti’s first teaching hospital built by Partners in Health, and...