When they found their baby crying for no reason, a couple invented the smart diaper to determine the cause.
A Eureka moment
Jennie Rubinshteyn and Yaroslav Faybishenko’s one year-old daughter started screaming in the back seat of their car for no apparent reason. It suddenly occurred to them that all the data was in her diaper as urine is full of a person’s health information. They then invented Smart Diapers which collects information about a child’s urine. The couple states that the goal is “not to create another quantified self-gadget, but to create a product that is unobtrusive in your daily life and only speaks up when there is reason to see a pediatrician or a specialist.”
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The smart diaper can be a tool to test for anything bad that might affect your baby’s health.
Testing stage
The Smart Diaper is touted as a prevention tool to monitor their child’s health. All a parent needs to do is to scan the QR code on the front panel of the Smart Diapers with their smartphone. If something bad is found in the analysis, the app will send an alert message. It acts as a kind of early warning health system, alerting parents to a potential infection before it becomes a real problem.
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The couple have partnered with Benioff Children’s Hospital at the University of California, San Francisco, where Smart Diaper is set to be tested. Due to the urine strip component, the diaper must also undergo Food and Drug Administration trials before production. When they do go on sale, Smart Diapers are expected to cost 30-40 percent more than a standard diaper.
Find out how these hi-tech diapers work on the next page!
Diapers go hi-tech
Smart Diapers are currently at the prototype stage. They are embedded with sensors that keep track of moisture, bacteria and sugar levels. When the QR code on the front panel is scanned with a smartphone, it gives a full pee breakdown. They claim that the diapers can reveal signs of urinary tract infection, prolonged dehydration and developing kidney problems. The beauty of this product is that they are making use of something that would normally be thrown away.
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Critics fear that the new diaper invention would cause unnecessary worry among parents.
Finance and sponsors
The New York-based team behind the product, who work under the name Pixie Scientific, are currently looking for a $25,000 investment to take it to market. To date they have raised more than $20,000 via the crowdfunding site IndieGoGo and have 11 days left. Sponsors who contribute $25 or more get to test the diapers starting this October.
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Cause to worry
While it is a great idea in theory, critics worry the invention could lead to false alarms and stress out already worn-out moms and dads. Whenever you change a nappy you’ll notice changes in colours, odour and consistency which may indicate a potential health issue. Do we really need an expensive high-tech nappy that does this for us? Tell us what you think.
