MUAC.png
FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Medical equipment data
Health topic Child mortality
Health classification Diagnosis
FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Project data
Status Commercialized
Made No
Replicated No
OKH Manifest Download

Problem being addressed[edit | edit source]

The World Health Organization estimates that there are 178 million children suffering from malnutrition across the globe, 20 million of which are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Of these 20 million severe cases, only about 3% receive the lifesaving treatment they need. Increasing the speed and scale of diagnosis will allow health workers in low-resource settings to treat more patients.

Detailed description of the solution[edit | edit source]

The middle-upper arm circumference (MUAC) band simply loops around a child’s arm to allow for rapid screening of malnutrition in children less than 5 years of age. The bracelet, in conjunction with weight and height measurements, is pulled snug on the patient’s arm to indicate the malnutrition level of the child. Arrows pointing to green means adequate nourishment, yellow means at risk, orange means moderately malnourished, and red (a circumference of less than 110 mm) indicates severe and acute malnutrition. Once diagnosed, further treatment steps can be taken for the patient.

Designed by[edit | edit source]

  • Designed by: Doctors Without Borders
  • Manufacturer (if different):
  • Manufacturer location: Can be printed from any computer

When and where it was tested/implemented[edit | edit source]

The MUAC band has been implemented in Doctors Without Borders sites across the world.

Funding Source[edit | edit source]

Doctors Without Borders

References[edit | edit source]

Peer-reviewed publication[edit | edit source]

Dale, N.M., Myatt, M. Prudhon, C., Briend, A. (2013). “Using middle-upper arm circumference to treat acute severe malnutrition leads to higher weight gains in the most malnourished children”. PLOS ONE. (2011) Feb;8(2):1-7. Web. Retrieved December 1, 2013 from here.

Other internally generated reports[edit | edit source]

Doctors Without Borders. (2011). Introducing MUAC: a tool to determine treatment. Retrieved December 1, 2013 from here.

Externally generated reports[edit | edit source]

Maternova. Bracelet of life. Retrieved December 1, 2013 from here.

IP and copyright[edit | edit source]

Approval by regulatory bodies or standards boards[edit | edit source]

FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Page data
Part of Global Health Medical Device Compendium
SDG SDG03 Good health and well-being
Authors Caroline Soyars
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Translations Indonesian
Related 1 subpages, 3 pages link here
Impact 226 page views (more)
Created January 24, 2014 by Caroline Soyars
Last modified March 2, 2022 by Page script
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