|
|
NEWS
Observations: Babysitter or Baby Hazard?
by A. Turgeman
The military journal, Bamachane, reports that a study
recently conducted to test the efficacy of the Shmartaf
["Babysitter"], a gas mask designed for babies up to age
three, cast doubt as to its ability to function over an
extended period in a sealed room and, according to the
researchers, the mask may put sick children at risk.
The study, whose results were published in the U.S. journal
Military Medicine, was conducted in the pediatric
ward of Ziv Hospital in Tzfat, in cooperation with the
Heller Institute for Military Medicine at Tel Hashomer. The
research staff included three physicians who checked 11
infants from one to eight months of age who suffered from
respiratory problems. Due to restrictions imposed on
experiments performed on human subjects, the experiment was
limited to just 15 minutes and was conducted in a ventilated
rather than a sealed room.
After wearing the Shmartaf for a few minutes the researchers
noted a significant reduction in oxygen levels in the baby
masks as well as a reduction in the infants' pulse rates and
a significant increase in carbon dioxide levels which, they
claim, could have an acute effect on infants suffering from
irregular breathing.
The findings brought criticism of those responsible. The
Shmartaf was developed and is manufactured in Israel and is
distributed to every mother upon release from the maternity
ward. According to the best estimates, half a million
infants and small children in Israel are equipped with the
Shmartaf.
The only question is whether the experiment was performed
under real-life conditions; since the tests were conducted
in a well-ventilated room, the researchers concluded that a
short period in the Shmartaf in a ventilated environment
does not have far-reaching effects on the infants, but they
noted that this does not provide clear indications of the
potential effects of an extended period in the Shmartaf in a
sealed room during an actual state of alert.
The Central Military Command was unhappy with the study.
"The manner in which the study was performed was
unprofessional," says the head of the Gas Mask Distribution
Administration, Colonel Golan Gilad. "An experiment that
lasts for 15 minutes in a ventilated room does not simulate
a real-life situation, and therefore the results are not
reliable. The standards of the experiment conducted do not
come anywhere near the standards for experiments conducted
in the military, which simulate all possible situations,
under all possible conditions. Every product has to meet
highly stringent criteria, and if it fails to meet them, it
does not make it out of the factory door."
|
