This baby sling turns sunlight into treatment for newborn jaundice

This baby sling turns sunlight into treatment for newborn jaundice Skip to content Subscribe today Every print subscription comes with full digital access Subscribe Now Menu All Topics Health Humans Anthropology Health & Medicine Archaeology Psychology View All Life Animals Plants Ecosystems Paleontology Neuroscience Genetics Microbes View All Earth Agriculture Climate Oceans Environment View All Physics Materials Science Quantum Physics Particle Physics View All Space Astronomy Planetary Science Cosmology View All Magazine Menu All Stories Multimedia Reviews Puzzles Collections Educator Portal Century of Science Unsung characters Coronavirus Outbreak Newsletters Investors Lab About SN Explores Our Store SIGN IN Donate Home INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SINCE 1921 SIGN IN Search Open search Close search Home INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SINCE 1921 All Topics Earth Agriculture Climate Oceans Environment Humans Anthropology Health & Medicine Archaeology Psychology Life Animals Plants Ecosystems Paleontology Neuroscience Genetics Microbes Physics Materials Science Quantum Physics Particle Physics Space Astronomy Planetary Science Cosmology Tech Computing Artificial Intelligence Chemistry Math Science & Society All Topics Health Humans Humans Anthropology Health & Medicine Archaeology Psychology Recent posts in Humans Health & Medicine A simple shift in schedule could make cancer immunotherapy work better By Elie DolginFebruary 12, 2026 Health & Medicine This baby sling turns sunlight into treatment for newborn jaundice By Elie DolginFebruary 12, 2026 Health & Medicine Antibiotics can treat appendicitis for many patients, no surgery needed By Laura DattaroFebruary 10, 2026 Life Life Animals Plants Ecosystems Paleontology Neuroscience Genetics Microbes Recent posts in Life Ecosystems Food chains in Caribbean coral reefs are getting shorter By Erin Garcia de JesúsFebruary 11, 2026 Paleontology Fossilized vomit reveals 290-million-year-old predator’s diet By Jay BennettFebruary 11, 2026 Health & Medicine Tell Me Where It Hurts sets the record straight on pain — and how to treat it By Laura SandersFebruary 10, 2026 Earth Earth Agriculture Climate Oceans Environment Recent posts in Earth Earth Earth’s core may hide dozens of oceans of hydrogen By Nikk OgasaFebruary 10, 2026 Animals Some dung beetles dig deep to keep their eggs cool By Elizabeth PennisiFebruary 4, 2026 Climate Polar bears in the Barents Sea are staying fat despite rapid sea ice loss By Rebecca DzombakJanuary 29, 2026 Physics Physics Materials Science Quantum Physics Particle Physics Recent posts in Physics Physics A precise proton measurement helps put a core theory of physics to the test By Emily ConoverFebruary 11, 2026 Physics The only U.S. particle collider shuts down – so a new one may rise By Emily ConoverFebruary 6, 2026 Physics A Greek star catalog from the dawn of astronomy, revealed By Adam MannJanuary 30, 2026 Space Space Astronomy Planetary Science Cosmology Recent posts in Space Astronomy This inside-out planetary system has astronomers scratching their heads By Adam Mann17 hours ago Space Artemis II is returning humans to the moon with science riding shotgun By Lisa GrossmanFebruary 4, 2026 Physics A Greek star catalog from the dawn of astronomy, revealed By Adam MannJanuary 30, 2026 News Health & Medicine This baby sling turns sunlight into treatment for newborn jaundice Filtering out sunlight’s harmful wavelengths could make jaundice treatment more accessible Blue wavelengths in sunlight can help treat newborn jaundice, but filtering out harmful radiation is key to making the approach safe. Stefan Tomic/iStock/Getty Images Plus By Elie Dolgin February 12, 2026 at 10:00 am Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to print (Opens in new window) Print Listen to this article This is a human-written story voiced by AI. Got feedback? Take our survey . (See our AI policy here .) Daniel John slips his arms through the straps of his souped-up baby carrier, settles the harness against his chest and eases a newborn-sized doll behind the smoky blue–tinted window velcroed into the fabric. He checks the fit and smiles, confident that his medical sling will help turn a long-stalled idea into something tangible — and wearable — for parents who lack access to care for a common and readily reversible condition of early life. Known as BiliRoo, this lightweight carrier is designed to treat neonatal jaundice, a condition that affects roughly 60 percent of newborns and 80 percent of preemies. It occurs when bilirubin — a yellow pigment in the blood — builds up faster than a baby’s body can clear it. In about 5 to 10 percent of cases, levels climb high enough that, without treatment, bilirubin can cross into the brain and cause permanent injury. Globally, severe jaundice is estimated to cause over 100,000 deaths each year, along with many more cases of long-term disability. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday. In modern hospitals, jaundice is usually a temporary nuisance: Babies are placed under electric blue lamps that help the body clear excess bilirubin, so levels fall and the problem goes away. In many parts of the world, however, phototherapy machines are scarce, forcing families to rely on sunlight instead. Yet, while the sun’s blue wavelengths can trigger the same bilirubin-breaking reaction, its ultraviolet rays can also damage sensitive skin and eyes, raising the specter of cancer. It’s a risky compromise, one that John hopes caregivers won’t have to make. He described his patent-pending device and its early performance data January 14 in Pediatric Research. Central to BiliRoo’s design is a transparent panel, positioned over the baby’s back, that blocks ultraviolet rays while letting therapeutic blue light through, mimicking hospital phototherapy. “It’s low cost, easy-to-use, simple and non-electric,” says John, a first-year medical student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor who founded a company, also called BiliRoo, to commercialize the concept. Medical student Daniel John models BiliRoo, a baby carrier designed to deliver safe, sunlight-based phototherapy for newborn jaundice.Daniel John As a bonus, treatment happens in a parent’s arms rather than inside a plastic crib. This eases the monitoring burden on overextended hospital staff, while allowing caregivers to go about their daily routines. It also promotes the type of skin-to-skin contact, known as kangaroo care, which strengthens bonding, regulates temperature and eases infant stress. For John, the drive to build BiliRoo is deeply personal. He spent his childhood in midwestern Nepal, in the foothills of the Himalayas, where his father worked as