biliblanket

English

A baby being treated for jaundice with a BiliBlanket

Etymology

Blend of bilirubin +‎ blanket, originally a brand name, BiliBlanket, trademarked by General Electric's Datex Ohmeda subsidiary, coined in the early 1990s.

Noun

biliblanket (plural biliblankets)

1. Any of various light-emitting blankets that are used for home treatment of jaundice in infants.
   • 1997, Wendy L. Votroubek, Julie Townsend, Pediatric Home Care, →ISBN, page 281:

     The advantage to the biliblanket is that the infant's eyes do not need to be covered as long as the biliblanket is shielded and continuous phototherapy is provided even when holding or feeding the infant.

   • 2003, Nikki Bradford, Your Premature Baby: The First Five Years, →ISBN, page 28:

     Biliblankets are used as another way of giving a jaundiced baby phototherapy treatment.

   • 2016, Andrea Purcell, Over 35 and Pregnant, →ISBN:

     For more severe cases a biliblanket may be recommended. It's a special blanket that wraps around the baby and works like concentrated sunlight to break down the bilirubin.