Project Summary | Project Information |
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Honduras is estimated to have an infant mortality rate of 17.4 deaths for every 1,000 live births according to UNICEF Global Data Base for Child Mortality1. Many of these deaths occur in transit from hospitals that are not equipped to handle premature or critical care newborns (tier one and two hospitals) to one of the only two top level (tier three) hospitals. Hospital Escuela located in Tegucigalpa and Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital in San Pedro Sula are the only two hospitals in Honduras equipped to treat critically ill newborns. Outlying hospitals within the country often need to transport these newborns to one of the tier three hospitals in order to give them the care they need. However, many of these outlying hospitals are up to 5 hours away from the centrally located hospital of Hospital Escuela, and do not have reliable transportation to either Hospital Escuela or Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital. Wanting to get their newborn medical treatment many mothers take public transportation to the top level hospitals and that is only if their finances allow them to, otherwise they may travel in an ambulance that is packed tight with other ill patients that may carry disease or put the infant at risk for infection. There is no safe way to transport a newborn in either of these conditions, and the mother is often left to hold their newborn against their chest on the several hour drive full of switchbacks and off road conditions, often newborns die during transit. In collaboration with Little Angels of Honduras, a non-profit organization focused on increasing the infant survival rate in Honduras, The AngelsARC aims to create a proposal for a neonatal ambulance for intra-hospital transport. This mobile unit will provide safe, life sustaining transportation for premature and critical care infants from a lower tier hospital in Comayagua to Hospital Esquela. 1 UNICEF Global Data Bases. (2015, September 9). Child Mortality Estimates, Country Specific Mortality Rates. Estimates generated by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME) in 2015. Retrieved from: https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/under-five-mortality/ For a more detailed project description download the Project Readiness Package |
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Team Members

From Left to Right: Gage Ellis, Ankha Khosbayar, Austin Zuercher, Alexa Boyd, Charlee Lefkovich, Rebecca Bonamico
Member | Project Role | Technical Role | Contact |
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Charlotte Lefkovich | Project Manager | Mechanical Engineer | cdl3646@rit.edu |
Rebecca Bonamico | Lead/Systems Engineer | Biomedical Engineer | rxb7528@rit.edu |
Gage Ellis | Power Lead | Electrical Engineer | gee2072@rit.edu |
Austin Zuercher | Facilitator/Communications Lead | Biomedical Engineer | awz8563@rit.edu |
Alexa Boyd | Customer Relations | Interior Designer | axb6480@rit.edu |
Ankha Khosbayar | Team Member | Industrial Designer | axk8893@rit.edu |
Work Breakdown: By Phase
MSD I & II | MSD I | MSD II |
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Customer Handoff & Final Project Documentation (Verification & Validation) |
Work Breakdown: By Topic
Project Management | Design Tools | Design Documentation | Implementation | Validation | Presentation & Dissemination |
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Acknowledgements
- HOPE for Honduras
- Little Angels of Honduras
- Rochester Institute of Technology Interior and Industrial Design
- Rochester Institute of Technology Engineering Multidisciplinary Senior Design Staff