Brilio.net/en - Premature babies is unfortunately still a common thing in Indonesia. Babies who are born before their date of due needs special treatment using an incubator.
For those that are well off, it may not be such a big deal, but how about those who do not come from rich family?
This is exactly why Raldi Artono Koestoer (61), a lecturer and professor from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Indonesia, invented something that has helped hundreds of babies that were born into a financially disadvantaged family.
Raldi invited some students to develop the manufacturing of the inexpensive incubator and then loaned it for free to mothers who are not able to afford hospital facilities.
The incubator technology invented by Raldi is simple but its function is optimum. The large-sized incubator is capable of generating heat up to 37 degrees Celsius.
This temperature is required by premature babies who need to adapt to the temperature of a mothers womb. As a precaution for sharp temperature increases, Raldi also equipped his invention with an automatic fan.
At first, I tried to build two incubators. Then I lent it to my friend whose grandchild required the support of an incubator. The result was very satisfying, his grandson gained more weight within three weeks, said Raldi when contacted by brilio.net/en, Tuesday (1/9).
At that moment, Raldi continued the manufacture of the incubator and donated it to health centers because an imported incubator can be so expensive, with prices up to IDR 75 million.
Raldis achievement does not stop there. After donating the cube incubator to hospitals and clinics, he still continues to further develop his invention.
This time, he has built a simpler incubator which is intended for home use and he loans it for free because the cost of using an incubator in the hospital can reach IDR 500,000 to IDR 8 million per day.
If their location is near UI (University of Indonesia), they may take it themselves. But if it is too far, I will pay for the transport, said the 1985 alumnus of Universite Paris-Est Creteil Val de Marne, France.
Up to this day, 30 units of the incubator have been created and 11 units have been spread across eight major cities outside Jakarta, including Banda Aceh, Denpasar, Malang, Magelang, Semarang, Pemalang, Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi, Yogyakarta, Cirebon, and later Makassar.
The unique thing is, Raldi doesnt want to patent his invention. Im not going to patent my invention, you can say I am an anti-patent. Just like an open source, everyone is free to build this incubator. The more incubators are created, the more babies are saved, therefore the intention is indeed for humanity, said the lecturer holding the professor title.
Raldis next plan is to create a foldable and built-in incubator that can be assembled easily. Well, we will wait for it, Sir!