otter rethinks medical design for real-world conditions

Otter, a portable newborn warmer developed by Design that Matters and MTTS, is designed to prevent and treat neonatal hypothermia in hospitals with unreliable electricity and limited resources. Awarded the 2026 Seoul Design Award Grand Prize (find top 10 finalists here ), the device rethinks newborn warming through an integrated, heat-conducting polycarbonate bassinet, a built-in battery, and an intuitive touchscreen interface. Otter addresses the practical challenges of neonatal care in low-resource settings, where power outages, limited maintenance capacity, and the risk of user error can compromise the reliability of conventional devices.

Newborn incubators and radiant warmers often depend on stable electricity, regular maintenance, and specialized equipment, requirements that can become obstacles in rural hospitals, where power outages and limited technical support complicate the delivery of neonatal care.…