Low cost incubator could save lives in developing world

Unlike the high-maintenance incubators found in neonatal intensive care units in the United States, a new incubator is easily repaired, because all of its operational parts come from cars. And while incubators can cost $40,000 or more, this one can be built for less than $1,000. The creators of the car parts incubator—a project being promoted by the Global Health Initiative at the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology, a nonprofit consortium of Boston teaching hospitals and engineering schools—say it could prevent millions of newborn deaths in the developing world.