Made for home fetal monitor isn’t new. We have seen it as far back as 2014, but this new one from Owlet Baby Care, called Owlet Band, kind of changes everything. How else did it go on to bag two CES awards in categories of Wearable Technology and Tech to Change the World? And oh yes, it is totally wearable. It’s like having an ultrasound machine strapped to mommy’s belly, but it is, obviously, more sophisticated and its, well, wearable.
Owlet Band is a stretchy fabric band designed to be worn around the mother’s abdomen and embedded in it are super thin sensors that pick up fetal heart rate and kick count, and pushes them in real-time to a smartphone. Owlet Band essentially fills the void between doctor visits, filling in mommy with data of her unborn child. Owlet Band also records the fetal heartbeat, pushes wellness notifications, tracks contraction, as well as maternal sleep position. Official words:
“The Owlet Band—made with DuPont™ Intexar™ ultra-thin fabric sensors—feels like comfortable clothing, but includes data gathering sensors. Using novel, state-of-the-art algorithms, the Band extracts fetal heartbeat and movement from bioelectrical signals. This data provides the mother important insights into the wellness of her developing infant during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, so she can see and potentially share these results with friends and family.”
DuPont Intexar is really a breakthrough in sensing technology that allows the sensors to be unobtrusively integrated into fabric and in this instance, the ultra thin electrode are seamlessly bonded to stretchable knit fabric band that is form-fitting wear all the way to full term.
Owlet Band is not available yet, though. Owlet Baby Care plan to release a consumer version later this year. If you are keen, you can sign up to be in the know over at Owlet Band’s product page. In the mean time, here’s the official product intro video:
All images courtesy of Owlet Baby Care.
