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 BYU students may help parents rest easier while their baby sleeps. Student innovator Jacob Colvin and his team 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 smart phone.
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 number around 2,500 in the United States each year.