A Half-century of Innovation

Neonatologists and researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine and Packard Children's Hospital are responsible for many pioneering technologies and treatments that now are used in nurseries around the world.

Doctors Ronald Arigano, David Stevenson, and Philip Sunshine, circa 1979.

Here is just a sampling:

1960s

• Opened the first clinical research center devoted to the study of premature babies;

• Developed the first apnea monitor for observing infant breathing rates;

• Began landmark research on maternalinfant bonding;

• Developed the first mechanical respirators for critically ill infants, which subsequently increased survival rates by 40 percent.

1970s

• Initiated hearing screening of newborns in the nurseries;

• Developed radiant-warmed transport incubator;

• Recognized and defined newborn pulmonary hypertension and developed successful treatments.

1980s

• Established Developmental and Neonatal Biology Training Program;

• Introduced Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) at Stanford for babies with heart and lung failure;
  

• Developed new laboratory technique to measure bilirubin production in babies.

1990s

• Opened Charles B. and Ann L. Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services;

• Developed first bedside breath analyzer to measure carbon monoxide and screen for hemolysis in jaundiced infants;

• Expanded satellite nurseries and infant transport programs to serve critically ill newborns throughout the region;

• Developed first functional imaging using time-resolved optics to view structure and function inside a living body.

2000-present

• Opened Center for Advanced Pediatric/Perinatal Education (CAPE), the world’s first simulated delivery room and pediatric training program;

• Created Perinatal Epidemiology and Health Outcomes Research Unit;

• Developed first optical imaging technology that allows researchers to observe gene expression and infectious pathogens inside a living organism;

• Developed the first phototherapy device with blue LED light, which reduces the risk of tissue damage in infants treated for jaundice.