Every parent worries about their baby.
They worry while it’s eating, while it’s playing—and especially while it’s sleeping. But a new device created by students at Brigham Young University in Utah may help parents rest easier while their baby sleeps.
Jacob Colvin and his colleagues have created a baby monitor that straps around an infant’s foot and uses pulse oximetry to monitor the heart rate and blood-oxygen levels. If the infant stops breathing or has a significant change in heart rate the monitor will notify parents by alerting them on their smartphone via an App.
Colvin and his five colleagues hope the device, which is completely wireless and uses safe, non-invasive technology, will reduce the annual cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) which, in 2010, were less than 100 in Australia.
“Our hope is that we can give parents time to react and see that something’s wrong before it’s too late,” said Colvin, a father of two himself.
Known as The Owlet Baby Monitor, the team still has a long road ahead that involves finalising the patent (paperwork has been filed and a patent is pending), more prototypes and more testing. But they’re not discouraged.
“If we can hear just one mother say that we made a difference, it would all be worth it,” Colvin said.
“That makes all the difference in the world.”
In addition to Colvin, who is studying European Studies, the team includes chemical engineering students Kurt Workman and Anna Hawes, mechanical engineering students Jason Dearden and Wyatt Felt, and Tanor Hodges, a nurse at the University of Utah.
Find out more about The Owlet Baby Monitor below.
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