Wearable technology is something that we are becoming more
familiar with in our everyday lives. Wearable technology has become very
popular in the athletic realm with products like the Fitbit and smart clothing
that tracks heart rate, for instance. Recently, however, wearable technology
has been making its debut helping parents care for their children—babies in
particular. The article that I read was specifically focusing on a “smart
pacifier,” although there are already other forms of smart wearables for
babies, like diapers and monitors. The smart pacifier is called “Pacif-i” and
was created by the company Blue Maestro, who specialize in developing “health
and environment monitoring solutions” by using small “Bluetooth Smart sensors
and data loggers” (Blue Maestro).
Pacif-i is
essentially a pacifier that works with an app that can be used on iOS and
Android devices. Pacif-i tracks the baby’s temperature and the parent can
easily see that on the app. This is an easier alternative than traditional ways
of monitoring a baby’s temperature, which may cause them discomfort or can be more
difficult for the parent to get accurate results. The article says that the app
will still be able to connect with the pacifier within 30 feet, so the child
can be in the other room sleeping, playing, etc and the information will still
be able to be accessed.
Pacif-i
does more than just monitor temperatures. “Parents can even record what
medications they are giving their children… along with the effect on their
child’s temperature, which they can refer back to when consulting the child’s
pediatrician.” This application seems like a very beneficial way for
pediatricians to gain insight on patients, when they cannot always be
monitoring them. I think Pacif-i is not only a great device for parents to use,
but also for pediatricians and doctors in hospitals and offices. Pacif-i also
has a tracking device for parents to use when the child becomes more mobile. The
design of Pacif-i is minimal and sleek. If I had not read this article and seen
pictures of Pacif-i, I would have thought it was just an average pacifier.
This
article was very straightforward and to the point, I felt like I had a decent
understanding of the product after reading it. They could have included more
information on the company Blue Maestro, I had to do additional research on
their website to understand what kind of company they were, really. I also
think they could have included a video of the application in action. I want to
know more about how to navigate the app.
Article:
Blue Maestro Site:
I agree that this technology is a huge advancement in the care of infants and children. Because a baby who cannot say how they are feeling, it is key to track their temperature in order to monitor their health. As it is, it is difficult for a parent to track that on a daily basis. This technology will allow parents to consistently monitor this data and will allow their pediatricians to gather this data and make better decisions for the health of the child.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see if this company could take this idea even further and innovate a smart crib that can track the babies’ temperature, along with other important health factors such as heart rate and sleeping patterns. I believe this technology has the potential to expand the care of children enormously.
I also believe this article was very interesting, and Pacif-i can provide many benefits to both children and parents. However there are some aspects that I believe can improve the product even more. The most beneficial would be increasing the range in which the parents app can connect to the pacifier. This would allow the parent more self ease because they could monitor their child from work or possibly even while traveling.
ReplyDeleteI am also interested in other technologies that are in the wearable technology market for children's health. Through research I was able to find that their are many options, including a gaming app that monitors children's blood pressure, as well a technology that provides consistent and calming reminders to children suffering from mental disabilities. This technology goes by the name if WatchMinder. However, through my research I could not find price ranges for these products. I would be interested in looking into these products more, including Pacif-i, to determine their cost, and whether or not they would be accessible to the general public.
I found this article to be very interesting as well. I really like how the pacifier looks like like an ordinary one, but it actually has so many features about it that is very beneficial for parents. The fact that the pacifier can reach ranges within 30 feet is very useful because the parents do not need to be in the exact same room as their child to be able to monitor them. The parents could be downstairs doing work or other things around the house while the baby is upstairs resting or taking a nap in its crib. However, although it does reach 30 feet, I feel that making the range bigger would be even more beneficial. Maddy, you mentioned how you thought it would be very beneficial for pediatricians and doctors, and I completely agree with you. Going off of how I think the range in being able to monitor the infant should be greater, this idea would be applicable for doctors in hospitals. When they are not in their offices doing paperwork, they are usually walking around the hospital, running errands and interacting with doctors from different departments. Therefore, I feel that having a wider range would be beneficial because the doctor can still monitor a child even if he or she is running errands on the fourth floor while the baby is being taken care of in a unit located on a lower floor, like the first level of the hospital.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I really like the idea of this pacifier and I think it is a great way to keep track of how a baby is doing and a great way to monitor its health.
I think this is very interesting, especially since wearable technology has become more popular. I think this would be a great product for parents who have nine to five jobs, and send their children to sitters. This allows them to monitor their child’s health even when they are apart from them. The only issue with this is that the article does not mention the range of this technology, or its efficiency. This may be more efficient for nurses and doctors, because it is a more modern method to use. This could also influence the change of keeping records in a pediatricians’ office, if they are using a Pacif-i. Offices could change from hard copies of paperwork to using digital copies of the information about a child, which more offices are beginning to use.
ReplyDeleteI think this could be a very successful product, and that the company could make more profits off of other “smart” products in the future. I would like to know about the cost of this product and how often it needs to be connected or charged in order to stay connected to the app. Another important factor to look into, is to see how far the connection between the pacifier and the phone (with the app) may be in order for the parents to monitor their child’s health.
As society has been increasing its use of technology in almost all aspects of life, we see a tremendous change in the methods used in the medical field. In this article, I find it very interesting that the Pacif-i can give one feedback on the health of their child/patient through a smartphone. This shows a great change for the better making it very convenient for a parent to monitor their child’s temperature and other aspects of health.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the feedback mechanism of this technology can be very beneficial to the parents themselves because of what they can learn. The feedback can show the user specific warnings and cautions that many people don’t know about. For example, the right body temperature for an infant can be different from person to person. This technology can also show parents what medications to use. There are countless scenarios where infants become sicker from the usage of the wrong medication.
The two concerns that I feel could add to the conversation is that parents may be subject to become lazy in caring for their children. Since they always have the comfort of having this technology, they may feel that they don’t have to pay more attention to their children. In addition, not all medications are right for everyone. Certain medication, if not recommended by a specialist, could be correct for one infant, but wrong for another. Other than those concerns, this technology is very convenient and baby-friendly, and will help in the medical field for years to come.
I found this article and your response to it very interesting. I had absolutely no about that this existed. However, I am not surprised due to the fact that the world is becoming more and more advanced electronically every day. With wearables becoming very popular, I believe that a device such as this pacifier will also become very popular. Following what you stated about this device and application being able to be used by pediatricians, I think this will definitely be beneficial because it will delay true data about the child. Some concerns I have, however, is how much data this pacifier will actually be able to collect. Overall, however, I think this product will definitely become popular and beneficial.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great advancement for children. I never knew that a technology like this had been developed yet. I like the idea of this product because many children especially when they are younger cannot express the fact that they are sick with the parent except by means of crying. This can help parents recognize more quickly if something is wrong with their child. But what happens with those kids who do not take to a pacifier? My mom used to always tell us that we would refuse to take a pacifier when we were babies. Maybe if they came up with this product and put it into bottles then it could also be beneficial. Every baby needs to eat. Even though there are some things that may be a downside of this it is overall a good and innovative product.
ReplyDelete