Slashdot Mirror
Wireless Skin Sensors For Newborns Will Let Parents Cuddle Fragile Babies
the_newsbeagle writes: In newborn intensive care units (NICUs) today, tiny fragile babies lie in incubators, wired to a variety of monitors that track their vital signs. This mess of wires makes it complicated for nurses to pick up the babies for routine tasks like diaper changes, and makes it hard for new parents to pick up their infants for cuddling. Skin-to-skin contact between parents and infants has been proven not only to help with bonding, but also to have a host of medical benefits for the infants, so the wires that tether babies to their beds are a real problem. At Northwestern University, an electrical engineer who works on flexible, stretchable electronics teamed up with a pediatric dermatologist to invent a solution. They devised a system of stick-on wireless biosensors (with a gentle adhesive that's safe even for thin preemie skin) that actually provide more information than today's standard setup. The system "is composed of two sensors, one that sticks to the chest to record electrocardiograms (providing heart rate), another that sticks to the foot to record photoplethysmograms (measuring blood oxygenation) and skin temperature," reports IEEE Spectrum. "The foot sensor required the engineering team to create software that could compensate for movement artifacts in the data. Time-syncing these two sensors also provides a continuous measurement of blood pressure; the system knows when the heart pumps out a pulse of blood and when it arrives at the foot, and that time measurement correlates well with blood pressure."
"The sensors use near-field communication (NFC) to connect to a module that can be attached to the baby's bed, and which both receives the data and sends wireless power to the sensors," the report adds. "That module transmits the data via bluetooth to a mobile phone or tablet."
"The sensors use near-field communication (NFC) to connect to a module that can be attached to the baby's bed, and which both receives the data and sends wireless power to the sensors," the report adds. "That module transmits the data via bluetooth to a mobile phone or tablet."
Umm, I think you don't know much about premmies. Plenty go on to live normal, healthy lives. Did you know that most twins/multiples are born early and often require a stay in the NICU? Not because they have anything wrong, but simply because they came out a few weeks early? They often go to the NICU after 30 weeks and have a 95% survival rate with no long term complications - they just need the NICU support to grow until normal delivery. Rarely do infants end up in the NICU because of a parents mistake.
I heartily agree.
Actually, it would be even better if such babies are found out early and the pregnant women are then mandated to abort them. The family should then be made to adopt a healthy baby of a different race that has been orphaned or given up by the parents. This will not only create more happy families, but significantly lower the risk of inbreeding even when the foster parents later decide to have unprotected sex with the adopted children.
A win-win situation for everyone.
This is really shortsighted and stupid.
The real solution is to save the preemies, then toss them into the nursery with all the other babies to participate in a battle royale where only the last surviving baby goes home.
My niece was premature for none of the above reasons and without being a burden once she left the hospital. She could kick your ass, guaranteed. Rethink your values.
We don't we simply sterilize the unworthy,
Stuff that matters
Yeah, being mandated to abort your child is TOTALLY going to improve happiness. Fuck off back to Legoland with your armchair psychology.
You are too squirmish. Be brave, be strong, there's plenty of other people's children to go around.
I.e., "Infanticide".
Looks like someone wanted to get in IEEE without doing shit. I can draw some lines around pictures of babies too and write up 300 words about how cool it 'could' be.
We are really disrupting by saving babies that have defects that wouldn't have survived on their own.
Well, that's one way to look at it. What else should we stop? Patent ductus arteriosis is a common defect where the hole normal between the chambers in a fetus' heart never closes up (usually does this several weeks before birth). A fairly straightforward open heart procedure fixes the problem. Should we stop doing this, too? Where do we draw the line? What criteria? Money? Class? At the other end of life - do we use euthanasia on the elderly that no longer contribute? Just asking questions... I've worked in health care, taking care of both newborn and elderly.
Chaos maximizes locally around me.
If you're saying it would make people happier if they didn't know... maybe this all happens within the maternity ward without the parents knowing.
(Similar to people not wanting to know where beef comes from, but still wanting to enjoy a hamburger for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.)
IMO, all life born on Spaceship Earth is precious and important. Food for thought, fellow passengers. :)
They have to be, to get through the too tight hip bone.
That's why our babies can't even walk or do anythig by themselves when they are born. While those of most animals can
People know exactly where beef comes from. That is why we have to get non-fart cows; to save the world. We have just under 12 years left before farting cows and airplanes (except for the rich or powerful, of course) destroy the world.
I am AOC and I endorse this message!
If I'm too rough, tell me
I'm so scared your
Little head
Will come off in my hands.
- Alice Cooper
You worthless fuck, you donâ(TM)t know much about biology do you.
And their parents too for allowing abominations into the world. No wait, strangling is too easy. Blood-eagle them!
Not all preemie's are born to drug addicted mothers or are the result of congenital birth defects. Many scientists theorize bacterial infections or even environmental pollutants are contributing to the rise in premature births. Speaking as a parent who did everything right (pre-natal care, vitamins, genetic screening, healthy lifestyle) and had a daughter born 15 weeks early who spent 81 days in the ICU, this invention is amazing. Would also be beneficial for elderly patients with very fragile skin.
She's now 13 years old, straight A student, active in sports and volunteering, focused on attending vet school to become a veterinarian. Let's discuss future positive impact on society by her versus some of the mouthbreathers in the parent posts....
We know you nazi cowards don't have much to brag about..
Cow farts actually are a major greenhouse producing factor. Go figure, Republicans are too stupid to know basic things anymore.
Nowhere does the article mentions any benefits to higher education students.
Eugenics says that if we keep the weak alive to reproduce more weak, we'll all be weak just before we go extinct.
And who wants to tell their parents, that hey, do what you want, your newborn can take it, he's tough
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
Let me be clear: You are wrong. You are ignorant on this subject. Please refrain from posting about things you know less than zero about in the future.
My 6-year-old kid was born preemie because... well, if you can *definitively* explain what causes preeclampsia, then you can make a lot of money (they don't call it the "disease of theories" for nothing). My kid was born 6 weeks early and weighed about 3-1/2 pounds. Now, my kid is perfectly healthy and normal with zero signs of being a preemie. If I never told you, you would never know. People are shocked when they find out my kid spent almost 3 weeks in the NICU.
A former co-worker of mine has two kids. Both were born preemie; one at 26 weeks (just under 2 pounds) and one at 28 weeks (just under 3 pounds). The mom is an extremely healthy woman and did "all the right things," which includes none of the assumptions you've made (*especially* the second time around!). Now, both kids about as normal as you can get. They have *some* signs of being a preemie, but only if you understand what to look for, which -- I assure you -- you don't. It's not like Downs Syndrome or kids in wheelchairs or anything more obvious like that. It's all fairly subtle... unless you know. Still, they both have way *fewer* issues than several kids I know who were not preemie.
A professor I know is well into his 60s and is a thought leader in his field. He's an amazing man who has not only contributed a ton to his field, he's also provided many free online courses that have demonstrably helped numerous entrepreneurs in developing countries. He was born preemie... well over 60 years ago when NICU medicine wasn't near what it is today. He shows no signs of being a preemie. In fact, I was shocked when I shared that my kid was preemie and he told me his story.
None of these people are or were smokers. None of these people are or were drinkers. None of these people are or were drug users. Neither while pregnant or not. And, even when not caused by the parent, all of the babies recovered... fully!... and have a fantastic quality of life, costing the medical system no more than the average kid. And these are not one-offs. Every other year, our NICU has a reunion that our family attends and we see hundreds upon hundreds of kids who just needed a bit more time in the hospital before going on to live fully normal lives. Go do some research and you'll see these success rates are not anecdotal.
So, next time you have the desire to make a post like this, stop. Put down the keyboard. Go find someone who knows something about the subject and ask some questions. Go find someone who has *actually* experienced what you want to write about and ask some questions. Heck, go ask your favorite search engine. You'll learn a lot and you'll also prevent yourself from showing your extreme ignorance.