NIDCAP nurse Sabine Ligtvoet brings user experience to the next level
With the arrival of product specialist Sabine Ligtvoet, the team of Bambi Medical is able to bring user experience to the next level. By reading this interview, you'll discover why her knowledge and observation techniques are extraordinary and why her approach to commercial validation and user experience testing is extremely advantageous to the company.
Why do the people of Bambi Medical see you as such a valuable addition to the team?
"Before joining Bambi Medical, I have worked as a NICU nurse for years. I specialized in developmental care, because I think it is very important.
As a developmental care specialist and an innovator at heart, I was an active member of a regional and a national work group. In these work groups, we shared experiences and knowledge, tried to harmonize procedures, developed national protocols and shared our opinions about the most suitable medical materials and devices. Our common goal: providing more unambiguous care to the neonate.
As you can understand, the Bambi Belt – being the only wireless neonatal monitoring device available – was regularly discussed in these work groups.
I also often worked with the different prototypes of the Bambi Belt and gave lots of feedback to the team of Bambi Medical, and neonatologist Sidarto in particular. You could call me a superuser of the Bambi Belt.
I think the Bambi Medical team values me so much, because of my years of experience in these different hospital roles. But most of all, because I am one of the few with a NIDCAP certificate. We all see my expertise as a NIDCAP nurse expertise as an important addition to the Bambi Medical's proficiency. ”
While advances in perinatal care have resulted in decreased mortality rates in preterm neonates, many of them struggle and are admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. To maximize neurological development and reduce long-term cognitive and behavioral problems, hospitals try to individualize care of these NICU babies. This approach is called developmental care.
My NIDCAP expertise empowers the Bambi Medical team even more to make babies' lives happier from day one.
What is so unique about that NIDCAP certificate?
"NIDCAP stands for Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program. NIDCAP nurses are able to fully understand the behavior of neonates and translate it to treatment recommendations that empower the baby. There are only 30 NIDCAP nurses in the Netherlands."
"People can only grow and develop when they feel safe. This is especially true for (premature) babies.
NIDCAP nurses modify the NICU environment and direct medical treatment and parental care to increase co-regulation and reduce stress in babies. By observing their autonomous, motoric and state system, we can see the abilities and limitations of babies and create these individualized recommendations to reduce negative stimuli. Simply said, we subtitle for parents and medical staff what babies try to communicate with their behavior.
Examples of recommendations are to spread care throughout the day, to change diapers in lateral position, so that babies can comfort themselves with their hands, to kangaroo as much as possible and to perform medical tests on the baby while he stays on the mother's chest or father's lap."
Why do you choose to work for Bambi Medical when you had such an important job before?
"It was, and still is, my mission to guide newborn babies through their hospitalization as painlessly and stress-free as possible. I always tried my hardest to increase the comfort of hospitalized babies. That’s why I have repeatedly taken steps in my career to increase my influence and control to make this happen. Like joining the work groups or signing up for the NIDCAP training.
I also saw the never-ending need for innovation to increase survival rates, health and wellbeing of premature babies. My switch from NICU and NIDCAP nurse to product specialist at Bambi Medical allows me to help many more babies and their parents.
I'm convinced that, by focusing on the babies and their parents or caretakers, we can design the best medical devices for the NICU and neonatology department."
Tell us more..
"Everyone should realize that medical staff can take over the care of babies, but not their parental love. Their bodies not only form the perfect, natural incubator, their touch and affection are key to their baby's feelings of safety and relaxation.
Today, all 9 NICUs in the Netherlands provide kangaroo care according to their own insight and applicability within their organizational structure. I hope that people will become more and more convinced of the fact that this is just as important as e.g. administering medicine. And that hospitals treat it as a standard part of their treatment plan.
I noticed that family centered care and family integrated care are becoming increasingly important in hospitals and clinics. I love this, because I experienced their impact firsthand: they have a big positive impact on the well-being of babies and parents.
Furthermore, many practicalities are adjustable to a single room setting and inviting the parents to perform and take over care tasks (family integrated care). But there are still many more improvements to be made. One of the big ones is removing the monitoring wires. They cause pain and prevent parents from picking up their babies to cuddle or care for them.
That's why I loved the idea and the prototype of the Bambi Belt.”
What did you think about the Bambi Belt in practice?
"I love seeing that babies' skin was spared and babies felt more comfortable. It should never be the case that babies can hurt themselves by accidentally pulling monitoring wires, that babies should suffer because the wires need to be removed for testing, or that parents are afraid to touch their child because of them.
Any improvement in the baby's comfort during intensive care is crucial to their development. It will have a big, positive impact."
How will you accomplish commercial validation of the Bambi Belt?
"I will lead and perform a pilot study at Máxima MC before we launch the product. I'll meticulously observe newborns that are admitted to the NICU whose health is stable and not critical anymore. I’ll observe the babies’ behavioral cues the NIDCAP way. I'll compare the registration of the heart and respiratory rate by the belt and by the adhesive electrodes. I also want to know if the belt registers less false alarms. Electrodes trigger many false alarms when the wires get tangled, when the baby or the parents accidentally pull on the wires, or when the staff remove them when they need to do tests.
We know that the more parents kangaroo and take care of their baby, the more the baby grows and recovers. So, I will also monitor if parents dare to do more when their vitals are monitored wirelessly. And how the parents and the medical staff go about during diaper changes, clothing, washing, weighing and examining the babies.
I am also involved in the wet skin study in the Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis."
What will your role as product specialist look like after product launch?
"I will serve as the link between the medical centers and the manufacturing company. I'll instruct our customers how to use the Bambi Belt and guide them in their first user experiences. Of course, I'll channel all feedback back to the company and see if and what we can change to improve user experiences.
I will also help define new research questions, so our team and the institutes we partner with can research or validate them in the future and improve the Bambi Belt. Today, these are on my list:
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