A Bradford scientist and a sunbed-maker have teamed up to design a life-saving cot for a toddler with liver failure.

The special cot - the brain-child of chief radiation physicist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Graham Hart - is now in use for Iqra Zaman, pictured here with her dad Shahid. She was born heavily jaundiced because of a rare liver condition.

The 18-month-old, who will ultimately need a liver transplant, is kept alive by hours of exposure to a special blue light. Mr Hart had the idea of creating a hammock over a specially-designed cot with mini-tubes which emit light, meaning Iqra can be treated as she sleeps.

Mr Hart, an expert in the field, said: "For this little girl there was no option. We had to find a way to help and it was fantastic to be able to do so.

"We have made every effort to make it look like a cot rather than a piece of equipment and we are delighted she seems to be settling in well."

He teamed up with Goldenlite in Dewsbury, which makes sunbeds and hospital dermatology equipment.

Goldenlite's managing director Graham Gaukrodger said: "We were very pleased to be able to help. Instead of giving out UVF rays for tanning, the tubes give off the blue light which helps in the treatment and we were able to design them for a cot. They can be expanded as the little girl grows."

Iqra, of Luton, Bedfordshire, was born with the rare Crigler-Najjar Syndrome of which there are only about 200 cases in the world.

It means the liver cannot break down bilirubin, which can leave the sufferer jaundiced and lead to brain damage.

Mr Hart is one of the few experts in the world so when he was told about her case he set out to help her and came up with the idea of the hammock-cot.

Iqra's mum Ifza said: "When I first heard about the hammock I wondered if she would be able to sleep all right in it or if she would fall out.

"But she is sleeping really well and so are we as a result. We still sleep alongside her but we don't have to keep an eye on her every minute of the night.

"She has also had coughs and colds recently but the jaundice has still been kept low.

"She still has slight yellowness but that is going. It was nowhere near as bad as before. We are very pleased."

Blue light treatment is often used for jaundice but this is believed to be the first time it has been made so child-friendly in the form of a cot.

The hammock uses special material which allows the maximum amount of light through and longer tubes can be used to adapt it as Iqra grows.

Mr Hart and Goldenlite were teamed up by Medilink - an organisation which brings together different sectors within the health sector.

Catherine Arkley, chief executive of the Children's Liver Disease Foundation, welcomed the invention.

"This is brilliant news," she said. "Crigler-Najjar Syndrome is a very rare disease. As affected children get older they have to spend longer under the lights, because of the growing surface area as they get bigger.

"I'm enormously enthusiastic about this idea. For the family this sort of equipment for the youngster can be a real life-changer.

"It will allow them to function normally as a family at home."