A device that makes a critical step in treating premature babies with breathing difficulties faster, simpler and significantly safer.

Safer Treatment for the Most Vulnerable Patients

When a premature baby is born struggling to breathe, doctors may need to administer medicine directly into the airways to help the lungs function. This requires placing a very small tube in exactly the right place (the airway, not the food pipe) and doing so within just 20 to 30 seconds. This is because prolonged obstruction in the airway can trigger the baby’s heart rate and breathing to drop quickly. Currently, confirming the tube’s accurate positioning can be slow and inconsistent, which is why nearly half of the first attempts fail. NeoAir is designed to address this. By integrating carbon dioxide detection directly into the catheter system, it allows clinicians to safely confirm accurate placement and quickly administer medicine in one device.

NeoAir: Improving Neonatal Care

When treating premature babies with breathing difficulties, every second counts. NeoAir supports a procedure known as MIST (Minimally Invasive Surfactant Therapy), which has been officially recommended for use in the UK since 2020. The tools and techniques used to deliver it are still evolving to improve precision, consistency and outcomes. 

Currently, clinicians have to verify tube placement using separate equipment, which means pausing at a critical moment, disassembling part of the setup, and losing precious seconds. NeoAir removes this extra step entirely. By building a confirmation system directly into the tube setup itself, it detects carbon dioxide (CO₂) which is present in the airway but not the food pipe, and signals whether placement is correct or not. Two designs are being developed: a simple colour-change indicator for single use, and a reusable electronic version with LED signals that show different confidence levels. 

The Hackstarter Journey

The team identified this challenge through research highlighting the high failure rates of the MIST procedure. A key contributor is the lack of a standardised, reliable method for confirming catheter placement within an extremely limited time window – creating uncertainty at a critical moment in care. 

Early testing using a simulated lung produced encouraging results: the single-use colourimetric design confirmed correct placement in under two seconds, while the LED-based system demonstrated automatic gas aspiration and clear visual feedback across different CO₂ thresholds. These findings gave the team confidence in the merit of their core idea and provided a strong foundation for further development and clinical testing.

Learning, Building and Looking Ahead

Designing a device for a neonatal unit where patients are vulnerable, time is short and there is no room for error, has shaped every aspect of NeoAir’s development. The next steps are testing both designs using gas concentrations that closely replicate those found in premature infants, alongside refining the prototypes to minimise unnecessary dead space. Equally important is gathering feedback from the clinicians who would use NeoAir in practice, ensuring the solution is not only effective but intuitive in real-world settings. 

Looking further ahead, the team will explore what it takes to bring a medical device from prototype to product – exploring regulatory requirements and scalable manufacturing. Ultimately, NeoAir aims to make the MIST procedure safer by demonstrating that dedicated tools designed specifically for this critical moment can make a real difference to the smallest and most vulnerable patients. 

The journey was incredibly rewarding. We are proud to be recognised by the judges for creating a ‘simple solution to a complex procedure’.