O•PEAR
Vitals Monitor for Newborns
10 weeks, Fall 2018
individual project
Why monitor vitals?
Not all babies need their vitals monitored, however, it is commonly necessary for babies born with complications
Premature Infancy
Fetal Growth Restriction
Fetal Arrhythmia
• bronchopulmonary dysplasia
• irregular heart rate
• apnea
• immature lungs and breathing
• chronic heart and lung problems
• apnea
• irregular heart rate
bench marking
Name
Snuza Hero Baby Movement Monitor
MonBaby Smart Button Baby Monitors
Nanit Plus Smart Monitor and Wall Mount Camera
Owlet Smart Sock 2 Baby Monitor
SafeToSleep Sleep and Breathing Monitor Bundle
Price
$110
$100
$280
$299
$339
Power Source
Battery
Battery
Cord
Battery
Battery
Monitor
Movement
Humidity
Temperature
Sleep
Oxygen levels
Heart rate
Sleep
Respiratory rate
Sleep
Movement
Movement
Communicates
App
App and external monitor
App
App
App
Problem Patterns and Themes
• Parents need to go to a medical facility to talk to
a doctor
• Parents are unable to track baby’s stats over time
• Multiple obtrusive devices used to monitor babies
Issues with the current market for infant vital monitors
• Doctors are unable to obtain quantitative information away from the baby
Opportunity
How might we reduce the number of obtrusive devices on and around the baby, while making the data more accessible to parents and doctors?
JACK, 6 weeks
MARIE, 32
Persona
- Worked in HR at Intel but now is a stay at home mother
​
- Is married, but her husband is in the military
​
- Jack is her first baby, but she wants three kids
​
- Has help from her mom about four days a week
- Marie's first baby
​
- Was born prematurely at 32 weeks old
​
- Was released from the hospital after two weeks in the NICU
​
- Birth complications causes him to periodically have irregular heartbeats and difficulty breathing
​
- Overall a happy and sweet baby
"It hasn’t been easy, but I love him so much. If something was wrong with him, I would want to know 100% of the time."
Journey Map
inspiration
My inspiration comes from organic forms and shapes in pottery and nature, mimicking and forming to the shape of the human body. I then generated a series of sketches off of these forms.
final form
Babies born with complications often need extra monitoring of their vitals when they are released from the hospital; however, using a multitude of monitors can be difficult to keep track of and over crowd the small newborn.
The O•PEAR is a baby monitor that measures and tracks a newborn’s heart rate, temperature, and respiratory rate. Its unique shape cradles the baby’s body and head, preventing abnormal shaping of the skull and holding the baby’s spine at its natural curvature. The O•PEAR can be secured to a swaddle blanket and used when the baby is awake or asleep. Its lack of wires and light weight allows for easy portability. The O•PEAR ensures that the newborn’s vitals are functioning properly, even after leaving the hospital.
The O•PEAR uses a wifi connection to connect to up to three smart phones for real time updates of the baby’s vitals. To measure heart rate, O•PEAR uses an optical sensor which uses light‑sensitive photodiodes near the neck to detect the amount of blood flowing in the baby’s body. An accelerometer is used to measure the breaths taken by the baby per minute. If the breaths stop for ten seconds, an alarm will alert all devices connected to the O•PEAR. There is also a thermometer used to measure the baby’s temperature. The inclinometer is used to tell if the baby has rolled over while it was sleeping. The button on the back of the device is for turning it on and off.
The O•PEAR app allows for the parent to check heart rate, temperature, and respiratory rate in real time. It also stores the information and uses graphs to show trends over time. That information can be shared on a special feature that supplies doctors available for live chat to answer questions 24/7. There is also a community page that connects parents of newborns to offer each other support online. A facts feed page shares helpful tips on healthy growth of the baby.
The infant's head is cradled in such a way that prevents abnormal shaping. Newborn's spines are actually shaped like a "C" rather than an "S" like adults. The form of the O•PEAR mimics this "C" shape, so the baby's spine is at its natural position. Vitals sensors contact the baby at its neck and behind the head.
thank you