The 'smart sock' that lets parents monitor their baby's health from anywhere - using a mobile app

 
Technology is trying by all means to make parenting a lot easier.

A smart sock that lets parents monitor their baby’s health from anywhere via a mobile phone app has been revealed.

Called the Owlet, the smart sock transmits a child’s heart rate, oxygen levels, skin temperature, sleep quality and sleep position to a parent’s smartphone.

Its makers say it can monitor day-to-day health and also help spot Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
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‘Every parent knows what it’s like to lay in bed and stress about whether your child is breathing,’ said Jacob Colvin, Owlet Founder and father of two, who developed the sock after his own child became sick.

‘Hearing my sick child wheezing all night long because of serious RSV [Respiratory Syncytial Virus] is one of the hardest experiences I have ever had, knowing I couldn’t do anything for her.’

It uses four tiny sensors to monitor heart rate and oxygen levels.

‘Having four sensors allows for nine different reading combinations,’ Zack Bombsta, Owlet’s Chief Engineering Officer said.

‘Hospital pulse oximeters only allow for one combination of light and sensor, making Owlet’s monitor a vast improvement over current technology.’

The firm is raising money online for the $159 gadget, and hopes it could go on sale in 2015.

The gadget will also send data anonymously back to the company, which plans to assemble a database to help spot problems and warn parents about them as early as possble.

‘With a large enough data set and with good predictive models, parents could be informed of the probability that their child will develop a condition such as bradycardia (reduced heart rate) or sleep apnea(cessation of breathing),' said data scientist Steven Liddle.