BabeeMon

Overview

This project aims to develop a closed loop neonatal apnoea alert system for monitoring premature newborns at risk of apnoea of prematurity. The spontaneous cessation of breathing in premature infants can lead to multiple organ damage if noticed after a short delay, or death if the delay becomes excessive. Premature infants are particularly at risk from 'apnea of prematurity', and in developing countries there are few resources which can adequately monitor at-risk infants.

This project seeks to leverage existing research in signal processing and device design to develop a monitoring device for such a population. The device will consist of a pulse oximeter (of which a prototype exists, but further work is required), and a mobile phone. The phone will run Java software (which must be written) to interface with the pulse oximeter and process cardiovascular data to derive respiration, heart rate and oxygen saturation. Existing research shows that these signals can be combined to produce an alert of cessation of breathing in neonates. The alert will take the form of a) simple vibrations, b) an audible alarm, and c) a GPRS/3G mediated message (to guarantee real time delivery) to a third party and/or database.