BEMPU Health
TempWatchPeer-Reviewed PublicationClinical Evaluation

Evaluation of a Neonatal Hypothermia Device in a Clinical Setting in Ghana

Year

2023

Location

🇬🇭 Accra, Ghana

Sample Size

249 LBW infants, 1,973 paired temperature readings

Investigators

Lauren McAbee, Paddington T. Mundagowa, Babbel Agbinko-Djobalar, Prince Gyebi Owusu, Adziri Sackey, Isabel Sagoe-Moses, Emma Sacks, Kwame Sarfo Sakyi, Robin B. Dail, Mufaro Kanyangarara

Institutions

University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health · Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra · Center for Learning and Childhood Development-Ghana · Michigan State University · Ghana Health Services · Johns Hopkins School of Public Health · Oakland University

Published In

PLOS Global Public Health

Download Full Paper (PDF)

Background & Methods

A clinical evaluation study at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana, to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the BEMPU TempWatch for detecting neonatal hypothermia compared to a reference axillary mercury thermometer. 249 LBW infants were enrolled and 1,973 paired temperature readings were collected. Subgroup analyses were conducted for infants in versus out of incubators, as incubator heat interference was hypothesised to affect device performance.

Key Results

Outcome / MetricBEMPU Groupp-value
Sensitivity (overall)67.8%—
Sensitivity (infants NOT in incubators)82.7%—
Specificity95.9%—
Positive Predictive Value (PPV)79.1%—
Negative Predictive Value (NPV)92.8%—
Overall accuracy90.6%—
Area Under Curve (AUC)0.81—
  • 1Overall sensitivity was 67.8%; for infants not in incubators — the primary intended use case — sensitivity rose to 82.7%, consistent with the device's design.
  • 2Specificity of 95.9% means very few false alarms, reducing alarm fatigue for caregivers.
  • 3The lower sensitivity in incubators is expected: incubator heat can mask true hypothermia at the wrist where the device measures.
  • 4AUC of 0.81 indicates good overall discriminative performance.
  • 5High NPV (92.8%) means a non-alerting device reliably indicates the infant is normothermic.

Why This Matters

This is the most rigorous multi-institutional clinical evaluation of TempWatch in sub-Saharan Africa, involving researchers from Ghana, the US, and South Africa. The findings clarify the appropriate use context — the device performs best outside of incubators — and provide strong evidence to support UNICEF's deployment across its West African country programmes.

How to Cite

McAbee L, Mundagowa PT, Agbinko-Djobalar B, et al. Evaluation of a neonatal hypothermia device in a clinical setting in Ghana. PLOS Global Public Health. 2023.
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