{"451491":{"#nid":"451491","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A Warm and Fuzzy Idea for Sick Children","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhat is suffering? It\u2019s a question that inspired a team of Georgia Institute of Technology students to bring a long-held idea to life for Sharron Close Ph.D. M.S. CPNP-PC, a research assistant professor and pediatric nurse practitioner in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELast spring, Close mentored four biomedical engineering (BME) students as they developed a mechanized stuffed animal to comfort sick children 12 months and younger. The Georgia Tech team was comprised of Kelsey Roberts, Matthew Lee, Laura Nelson and Joseph Boltri. The students equipped a \u0022Cuddle Care\u0022 prototype \u2014 a stuffed monkey with arms long enough to bolster or wrap around a child \u2014 that breathes, thumps with a heartbeat, and emits radiant heat.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClose has carried the Cuddle Care idea with her since nursing school, when she cared for a 3-year-old boy with AIDS on an oncology unit. Tumors covered his small body, and his only relief came when Close and others held him. The child\u2019s mother, who was HIV-positive and had several young children, rarely came to visit. Close agonized over the young boy\u2019s future when her clinical rotation on the unit ended.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I thought there must be a way to comfort a child who was suffering this way,\u0022 she says. \u0022I reflected back on what was providing him comfort. As I held him in a rocking chair, I was taking pressure off of his tumors. We were also exchanging heat. I could feel his heat up against my chest, and he was feeling the comfort of my heartbeat and being held and squeezed. He was made to feel safe in the arms of what should have been a parent but was not possible for this little boy.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe thought of developing a device mimicking those sensations that would wrap around a child to provide warmth and comfort. She applied for a provisional patent but put the device on hold for several years until she came to Emory, where the idea resurfaced. Close consulted the university\u2019s Office of Technology Transfer, which connected her with Georgia Tech. Students there embraced her idea and made it their capstone project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We wanted to provide comfort to those who need it most,\u0022 says BME student Matt Kee, who sees great potential for the \u0022Cuddle Care\u0022 device in the pediatric health care market. Now under way are a patent application and development of a prototype for testing in the clinical setting.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A Warm and Fuzzy Idea for Sick Children"}],"uid":"27513","created_gmt":"2015-09-24 09:53:35","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:36","author":"Walter Rich","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-09-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-09-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"451481":{"id":"451481","type":"image","title":"Sharron Close (center) listens as a Georgia Tech BME student explains how the Cuddle Care monkey works to comfort sick children. Close came up with the idea when she was in nursing school.  Photo: Ann Borden","body":null,"created":"1449256280","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:11:20","changed":"1475895192","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:12","alt":"Sharron Close (center) listens as a Georgia Tech BME student explains how the Cuddle Care monkey works to comfort sick children. Close came up with the idea when she was in nursing school.  Photo: Ann Borden","file":{"fid":"203341","name":"cuddlecaremonkey_520.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cuddlecaremonkey_520_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cuddlecaremonkey_520_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":167054,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/cuddlecaremonkey_520_0.jpg?itok=7ccwfSTH"}}},"media_ids":["451481"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"249","name":"Biomedical Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:wrich@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDepartment of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["wrich@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}