Top 20 team in the 2019 High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge at the University of Utah. https://lassonde.utah.edu/hsuec

1. Noisy NICU Cap
Protecting little ears for a big life.

2. Problem
Premature babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are exposed to loud sound levels that can damage
their auditory system development. Studies show that 70% of the time, the decibel (dB) level in the NICU exceeds
the safe range of 50 dB. The final weeks of gestation provide critical stages of auditory development. When a baby
is born early, their hearing is underdeveloped and the womb no longer protects them. The womb provides
protection from outside noises and dampens sounds. In the womb the primary sounds a baby hears are the
mother’s voice, her heartbeat, and digestion. In the NICU, the sounds are unnatural, loud, and unpredictable
including machines, alarms, and undampened speaking.
The noisy NICU may contribute to long term problems such as abnormal auditory development, speech and
language development, inability to tune out noises, and attention disorders, along with immediate effects such as
tachycardia and hypoxia.
Innocent babies should not have to suffer long term effects from the place that exists to save their lives. There is
currently no product on the market to address this problem and I plan to solve that with my Noisy NICU Cap.

3. Solution
I designed and created a prototype for a sound attenuating cap that can be worn by premature babies in the
NICU. The cap is made with materials that attenuate (reduce) the noise premature babies are exposed to in the
NICU, as well as simulate a more muted sound similar to what the baby would experience in the womb. On
average, the sound level in the NICU is between 60-120 dB. To put in context, 60dB is level of normal conversation
and 120 dB is the sound of an ambulance siren. These levels far exceed what a premature baby can handle.
I developed a method of testing materials while simulating the highest sound levels in the NICU. After extensive
testing of 25 different materials, I narrowed it down to four materials that had excellent sound attenuation
properties and were feasible for comfort and design. My cap consistently lowers the sound level by 50bB, which
puts the sound in a much safer region for premature babies.

4. Market
The Noisy NICU Cap could be a medical-grade product or a consumer product. Because there is no current
standard of any kind requiring ear plugs, or sound-reducing cap use, I would need to emerge into the medical
market. There are 15 million premature babies born every year in the United States, 1 in every 10 babies.
I plan to first launch my product as a consumer product and target the mothers of premature infants. I believe
with proper education on the importance of developmentally appropriate sound levels, mothers will be quick to
adopt the use of a cap for their baby. Caps are worn routinely in the NICU for warmth, so replacing the normal cap
with a more functional cap should be feasible.
There are currently no direct competitors on the market. There is a company that sells hats for full terms babies
with a foam band to cover the ears. It is not sized for preemies and it does not appear to fit snug. Based on my
testing, if the cap does not fit snug, creating a light seal around the ear, it significantly loses its effectiveness and
does very little to attenuate sound. My product is novel.

5. Prototype