New, Innovative Baby Monitor Monitors Breath and Breathing Patterns of Infants

(Salt Lake City, UT) — This January, Smartbeat will feature its flagship product, the video baby monitor with breath detection, at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Smartbeat uses computer vision technology to track movement with such precision that it can measure the depth and duration of every individual breath.

Founder Nate Ruben began work on Smartbeat after his first son was born four weeks premature. Knowing that he was at higher risk of succumbing to SIDS, Nate’s wife Sarah woke every two hours for six months to check for breathing, the lack of sleep triggering a severe episode of postpartum depression. (Hear them tell their story here.)

Smartbeat provides 1080p video streaming to mobile devices that includes a status bar–Motion Detection, Breathing Detected, or Analyzing–that can be tapped to reveal two breathing charts. Real-Time Breathing shows each individual breath, and Breathing Rate shows the breathing rate over time. A nightstand mode saves battery power and makes the status icon large enough to see from a distance. The camera can pan/tilt 355 degrees, and includes two-way audio and image capture. Account access can be granted to additional caretakers who can all watch the video stream simultaneously.

In addition to reassuring parents that their child is sleeping safely, Smartbeat is able to report their child’s breathing rate, which offers parents a window into their infant’s overall wellness. Breathing rate is the first vital sign to change when the body is stressed, so a sustained breathing rate during sleep  that is 25% to 50% higher than normal lets parents know that their child is uncomfortable or getting sick–often before any other symptoms appear.

Smartbeat began shipping in December 2018 and will complete its clinical trial at Northwestern University Hospital in Q1 2019. Visitors to Smartbeat’s booth at Eureka Park will see the new features launching in 2019 that will aid parents in sharing historical vital sign data with healthcare practitioners.

Sudden Unexpected Infant Death–including SIDS and accidental suffocation and strangulation–is the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States. Although a relatively small portion of the population is affected each year, there is no knowing when or where it will strike. All children are considered at risk, so pediatricians teach new parents to regularly check their baby’s breathing during sleep.