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The need to maintain a neutral thermal environment is critical to newborn care. Aim: To investigate reasons for the insufficiency of functional incubators and develop a cost-effective technique for using electronic digital components to recycle obsolete incubators in Nigeria. Methods: Following interview of 84 clinicians and administrators in Nigerian hospitals, it was identified that inadequate funding was the main reason for lack of functional incubators. Two groups of incubator units were then created and their performance compared. Sixteen units of modern (group A) and 19 units of obsolete (group B) incubators were obtained from six hospitals. An assembly design applying independent generic components for recycling systems was specified and produced. These were sourced through the internet at competitive cost and fitted into the reconstructed panels of the obsolete systems. The functional performance of each recycled system was rigorously monitored for 6 months and graded using ten performance indices. The same indices were used to quantify group A systems. Results: The performance of the recycled incubators (group B) was found to be similar to those of modern incubators. Group B's cost index was found to be 25% of that of group A's. Conclusion: Appropriate incubator recycling is a cost-effective method of re-equipping hospitals in low-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]