Newborn Foundation Research, Programs and Advocacy Highlighted at World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery in Barcelona
The Newborn Foundation, an international nonprofit leveraging process innovations and medical technologies to improve outcomes and reduce disparities for infants, presented two sessions during The 7th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery (WCPCCS) at the Centre Convencions Internatcional de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain in July.
The conference is held once every 4 years and convened more than 3,500 experts in pediatric cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, researchers, and other professionals and advocates involved in the care of children with heart disease. The sessions highlighted advocacy and humanitarian efforts to combat congenital and childhood heart diseases, with a focus on newborn screening and emerging technologies for low-resource settings.
Additionally, the Newborn Foundation presented two posters, including one presenting interim data from the largest newborn pulse oximetry screening project in the world, the BORN Project. Based in China and the Philippines, the pilot studies are screening more than 100,000 newborns and is the first in the world to use mobile phone- based pulse oximetry to screen newborns in resource poor and remote birth settings.
“We are honored to be participating for the second time, in the largest gathering of pediatric cardiac experts in the world,” said Annamarie Saarinen, co-founder and CEO of the Newborn Foundation, who also served on the faculty of the World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery.
“It was particularly inspiring to see the growing interest in the use of technologies such as automated echocardiography, telemedicine and pulse oximetry to earlier detect and treat babies with hidden, but deadly heart defects and other serious medical conditions. It’s a privilege to be playing a role in advancing these innovations to benefit babies everywhere.”
The Newborn Foundation also presented another session on the development of automated echocardiography to democratize access to high quality heart and lung imaged in low resource settings. Access to automated echocardiography can contribute to faster diagnosis of serious medical conditions, improved access to care and increased newborn and pediatric survival rates.
About the Newborn Foundation
The Newborn Foundation is an international nonprofit working specifically to leverage policies, programs and medical technologies to improve access and outcomes while reducing disparities for newborns. Co-founded by the mother of a child diagnosed with critical congenital heart defects as a newborn, the organization has been integral in the policy development, adoption and implementation of technologies for early detection, intervention and care of the youngest patients, including the landmark addition of universal newborn pulse oximetry screening for heart defects and other serious health conditions.
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