WSU students design incubator for Congo

FAIRBORN, Ohio (WDTN) - Some local college students are opening their hearts to babies on the other side of the world.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa, has ongoing political conflict that has resulted in decreased food production, malnutrition and poor health care.

"There is a very high infant mortality rate," said Jessica Hernandez, Wright State University.

Hernandez is part of a biomedical engineering team at Wright State University.

She and some classmates have been moved by the lack of health care and the number of babies who die early in the Congo.

They designed a low tech incubator to keep those premature infants alive.

"They only have electricity for a few hours a day and they get their electricity from a generator, so our incubator needs to run off a battery and their electricity," said Joanna Newton, Wright State University.

In such a simple form, their life saving machine is designed to save tiny, sick lives.

It will regulate babies' temperatures, is easy to clean and has 24 hour a day power.

The students say one of the incubators will go to a hospital in Goma where there is a large refugee camp.

The students entered the incubator in an engineering competition at Rice University in Houston.

They didn't win, but say the real victory is saving lives.