New wireless sensors allow premature babies to receive more hugs

Chicago researchers have apparently found a much easier way for preterm infants in intensive care to get the human touch and hugs they need from their caregivers. This week, they introduced a low-irritation wireless sensor system that can be used to monitor a baby's health from a distance. The sensors, already tested in the real world, could someday replace or even surpass the cumbersome entanglement of wires currently used in neonatal intensive care units.

Babies born prematurely (before 39 to 40 weeks of pregnancy) are at a higher risk of developing all kinds of health problems. Very often their vital signs need to be closely monitored in intensive care units before they can go home. Unfortunately, this requires connecting them to a variety of heavy wire machines. Threads can not only prevent parents from moving or touching their children – a key developmental moment that could actually improve the child's health – but the tape used to secure these leads can also damage the already fragile skin of a premature newborn.

To solve these problems, an international team of scientists, engineers, doctors from Northwestern University and elsewhere sought to create a wireless surveillance system. They finally created a pair of small sensors that simultaneously control the baby's heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and breathing, all while securely attaching to the skin using only water.

They then tested the sensors in real-life scenarios with infants requiring intensive care. In more than 20 infants, some as young as 28 weeks old, they found that the sensors were as accurate as traditional wired sensors. Their findings were published Friday in Science.

"We have been able to replicate all the features of current wired sensors with clinical-level accuracy," said study author John A. Rogers, a bioengineering engineer at Northwestern, who led the development of technology, in a statement. "Our cordless, battery-less, skin-shaped devices look like nothing, in terms of measurement range, accuracy, and accuracy. They even provide advanced measures that are clinically important but are not routinely collected. "

The authors say that these improvements are possible because of the location of the sensors. One goes on the breast or the back of the infant, the other on his foot. This allows doctors to detect subtle temperature differences between the body and the foot, which could reveal earlier blood circulation or heart problems; it may also allow a more accurate and safer blood pressure reading than the typical blood pressure cuff, which can also affect the skin.

For mothers like Taschana Taylor, whose daughter Grace participated in these experiments, the improvements were obvious.

"Trying to feed her, change her, wrap her, hold her, and move her with her with the wires was difficult," Taylor said in a statement. "If she had no son on her, we could take a walk together around the room. This would have made the experience more enjoyable. "

The authors estimate that their sensors would be relatively inexpensive and would cost less than $ 20 per unit once mass production is possible. But they can also be sterilized and reused, which would be particularly important for hospitals in less wealthy countries. And plans are already under way to ship the system to less developed countries.

Indeed, although the results of the study in Science cover only 23 infants, the authors claim that they have since tested 70 infants. They are also in the midst of studies evaluating their use in older, ethnically diverse groups outside the United States. We hope future studies will determine whether these sensors can work on burn victims and patients with complex skin conditions.