LET’S hear it for the amateur inventor. By fixing a disposable syringe to a cannibalised loudspeaker, Frank Løvstad of Stokke in Norway has found a safer way to help newborn babies who are experiencing breathing difficulties. As many as 2 per cent of all newborns need help to breathe. But their delicate lungs can be injured if too much air is pumped into them using a conventional, hand-operated balloon pump. If this happens, the infant may need several more days on a ventilator to recover.
So Løvstad, an electronics enthusiast and former paramedic, decided to design an electronic valve…
