Inventor of Incutel Neonatal Incubator & Humanitarian Engineer
1960 – Present
🇵🇪 PeruClaudio Castillón Lévano was born in 1960 in Peru, a nation of extraordinary natural beauty and cultural richness but also significant economic challenges and health care disparities. Growing up in a country where many communities lacked access to basic medical equipment, Castillón witnessed firsthand the devastating consequences of inadequate healthcare infrastructure. Premature babies died for want of incubators; treatable conditions became fatal due to lack of equipment. These experiences would shape his life's mission.
Peru's healthcare system, like that of many developing nations, faces a persistent challenge: medical technology developed in wealthy countries is often prohibitively expensive and unsuitable for resource-limited settings. A traditional neonatal incubator can cost $30,000 to $50,000—more than the annual budget of many rural health clinics in developing countries. Even when such equipment is donated, maintenance, replacement parts, and specialized technicians required to repair complex medical devices are often unavailable in remote areas.
As Castillón pursued his education in engineering, he became increasingly interested in what's known as "appropriate technology"—solutions specifically designed for the contexts and resource constraints of developing countries. Rather than simply trying to make expensive Western technology cheaper, appropriate technology reimagines solutions from the ground up, using local materials, local expertise, and designs suited to local conditions.
Castillón observed that while sophisticated medical equipment was scarce in rural Peru, automotive parts were relatively abundant and affordable. Cars and trucks traveled throughout the country, and mechanics who could repair vehicles existed even in small towns. Automotive components were designed for durability, were mass-produced (making them inexpensive), and could be repaired or replaced by people with basic technical skills. What if these readily available, affordable parts could be repurposed to create life-saving medical equipment?
In 2009, after years of research, experimentation, and testing, Claudio Castillón Lévano unveiled the Incutel—a neonatal incubator built primarily from automotive parts. The name "Incutel" combines "incubator" with a reference to its technological approach. The device was revolutionary not because it used advanced technology, but because it achieved essential medical functions through ingenious repurposing of common components.
The Incutel uses headlights from cars to provide the heat necessary to keep premature babies warm—one of the most critical functions of an incubator, as premature infants cannot regulate their body temperature. Door alarms from vehicles serve as temperature monitors, alerting medical staff if the incubator becomes too hot or too cold. Windshield wiper motors power fans that circulate air within the incubator, ensuring even temperature distribution. Car batteries provide backup power, crucial in areas where electrical service is unreliable or non-existent.
The brilliance of this design extends beyond its low cost. Because the Incutel uses automotive parts, it can be maintained and repaired by local mechanics using tools and skills they already possess. If a component fails, replacement parts are available at auto parts stores rather than requiring expensive medical supply orders from overseas. This dramatically reduces both the initial cost and the long-term operating expenses of the equipment.
The Incutel costs approximately $450 to build—roughly 1-2% the cost of traditional neonatal incubators. This dramatic cost reduction makes it feasible for rural clinics, small hospitals, and under-resourced healthcare facilities to provide potentially life-saving care to premature and low-birth-weight infants. Where before these babies would have died for lack of equipment, the Incutel offers hope and survival.
But the Incutel isn't just cheap—it's effective. The device maintains the precise temperature control necessary for premature infant survival, provides visual monitoring of the baby, and includes alarm systems to alert staff to potential problems. While it may not have all the sophisticated features of high-end Western incubators, it provides the essential functions needed to save lives, which is what matters most in resource-limited settings.
Following its development, the Incutel was deployed in hospitals and clinics throughout Peru, particularly in rural and under-served areas. The results were remarkable and heartbreaking in equal measure—remarkable because the devices worked, saving babies who would otherwise have died; heartbreaking because they revealed the scale of preventable infant mortality that had been occurring due to lack of equipment.
Doctors and nurses who had previously watched helplessly as premature babies died now had a tool to save lives. Families who had lost babies to prematurity in the past saw their subsequent children survive thanks to the Incutel. The device proved particularly valuable in rural areas far from major hospitals, where mothers delivering prematurely had limited options and where transporting fragile newborns to distant facilities was often impossible or fatal.
The Incutel's success in Peru attracted international attention. Public health experts, medical professionals, and development organizations recognized that the same challenges faced by Peru—expensive medical equipment, limited resources, lack of specialized technicians—existed throughout the developing world. If the Incutel could save lives in rural Peru, it could save lives in rural Africa, rural Asia, and impoverished communities worldwide.
Castillón began sharing his design and approach with inventors, engineers, and healthcare providers in other countries. Workshops were held to train people in building and maintaining Incutel incubators. The design was adapted for different contexts, using whatever automotive parts were most readily available in each location. The fundamental principle—repurposing affordable, durable, locally-available components to create life-saving medical equipment—proved applicable across diverse settings.
Castillón's humanitarian innovation earned him numerous awards and recognition from the international community. He received the Tech Awards, which honor technology benefiting humanity, and various recognitions from Peruvian and international organizations celebrating his contribution to global health. These awards brought attention not just to Castillón personally, but to the broader concept of appropriate technology and innovation tailored for developing-world contexts.
Media coverage of the Incutel inspired other inventors and engineers to think differently about medical technology for resource-limited settings. Why not use readily available materials to create other essential medical devices? Could similar approaches work for oxygen concentrators, patient monitors, diagnostic equipment? Castillón's work helped spark a broader movement toward appropriate medical technology innovation.
Importantly, Castillón didn't stop with the incubator. He continued working on other medical innovations using similar principles—repurposing affordable, available components to create equipment that addressed critical healthcare needs in developing countries. He became an advocate for appropriate technology, speaking at conferences, universities, and development organizations about the need for context-appropriate innovation rather than simply trying to make expensive Western technology marginally cheaper.
His message resonated because it challenged conventional assumptions about healthcare technology. The medical device industry in wealthy countries focuses on ever-more sophisticated, expensive equipment, often with features that are unnecessary in many contexts. Castillón demonstrated that what many communities need isn't cutting-edge sophistication but reliable, affordable equipment that provides essential functions and can be maintained locally.
To understand the significance of Castillón's work, it's important to recognize the scale of neonatal mortality in developing countries. Globally, approximately 15 million babies are born prematurely each year, and complications from preterm birth are the leading cause of death for children under five years old. The vast majority of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries where access to neonatal care is limited.
Many of these deaths are preventable with relatively simple interventions—keeping premature babies warm, providing oxygen when needed, protecting them from infection, and supporting them until they can regulate their own bodily functions. Incubators are a cornerstone of this care, yet the high cost and maintenance requirements of traditional incubators put them out of reach for many healthcare facilities in developing countries.
The Incutel addresses this global health crisis by making incubator technology accessible in resource-limited settings. While exact numbers are difficult to track, conservative estimates suggest that Incutel incubators have saved thousands of babies across Peru and other countries where they've been deployed. Each life saved represents not just a statistical victory but a family kept intact, a child given the chance to grow and thrive, and a community's healthcare capacity enhanced.
Moreover, the Incutel's existence changes healthcare planning conversations in developing countries. Government health officials and hospital administrators who previously couldn't afford to provide incubator care can now budget for this equipment. International aid organizations and NGOs can deploy affordable incubators more widely. The technology shifts what's possible in neonatal care for vulnerable populations.
Despite its success, the Incutel faces ongoing challenges. Regulatory approval for medical devices is complex, even in developing countries, and each nation has different requirements and processes. Scaling production while maintaining quality and affordability requires ongoing effort. Training healthcare workers to use the equipment properly and mechanics to maintain it requires sustained educational programs.
There's also the challenge of sustainability—ensuring that Incutel incubators remain available and functional over time. While the use of automotive parts makes replacement easier, it still requires systems for sourcing components, organizing repairs, and supporting users. Castillón and his collaborators continue working on these operational challenges, recognizing that invention is just the beginning of creating lasting impact.
Additionally, Castillón has had to navigate the complex terrain between appropriate technology and perceptions of "second-class" healthcare. Some critics argue that developing countries deserve the same sophisticated medical equipment as wealthy nations. Castillón's response is pragmatic: the choice isn't between an Incutel and a $50,000 incubator—the choice is between an Incutel and no incubator at all. Perfect shouldn't be the enemy of good when lives hang in the balance.
The Incutel incubator has saved thousands of premature babies who would have died without access to affordable neonatal care. Castillón's humanitarian innovation demonstrates how engineering ingenuity can address critical global health challenges.
Claudio Castillón Lévano's legacy transcends the specific device he invented. The Incutel represents a profound philosophical shift in how we think about medical technology, innovation, and global health equity. His work demonstrates that the most sophisticated solution isn't always the most expensive or technologically complex—sometimes the most brilliant innovation is finding simple, elegant ways to solve problems using resources already available in the communities that need help.
The Incutel challenges the prevailing model of medical technology development, which typically involves creating sophisticated devices in wealthy countries and then trying to adapt or donate them to developing nations. Castillón flipped this model, designing from the ground up for the specific contexts, constraints, and resources of developing-world healthcare settings. This approach—understanding the local context deeply and designing specifically for it—offers a template for addressing numerous global health challenges.
His work also highlights the critical importance of maintainability and sustainability in healthcare technology. A donated $50,000 incubator that breaks down in a rural clinic with no qualified technician or replacement parts becomes an expensive piece of useless equipment. An Incutel that can be repaired by the local mechanic using parts from the auto shop continues saving lives for years. This insight about appropriate technology and local capacity has influenced how development organizations and health ministries think about medical equipment procurement and deployment.
For Peru and other developing nations, Castillón's achievement represents something deeply empowering: the demonstration that solutions to local problems can come from local innovators who understand the context intimately. Too often, developing countries are positioned as passive recipients of technology and innovation from wealthy nations. Castillón shows that Peruvian engineers can create world-changing innovations that address their communities' needs while inspiring global movements.
The lives saved by the Incutel are not abstractions—they are specific babies who survived when they would have died, who grew into children and will grow into adults, who will have families and contribute to their communities. Each life saved ripples outward, affecting parents spared the grief of losing a child, siblings who grow up with brothers and sisters who would have been lost, communities strengthened by the presence of people who nearly weren't there. The humanitarian impact of Castillón's work is both statistically significant and profoundly personal.
Looking forward, the Incutel model suggests possibilities for addressing other critical healthcare equipment gaps in developing countries. Could similar approaches create affordable oxygen concentrators, patient monitors, diagnostic equipment, or surgical tools? Castillón's work has inspired a new generation of engineers and inventors to think creatively about appropriate medical technology, potentially sparking innovations that could save millions of lives across multiple domains of healthcare.