One of the scary parts about being a new parent is that your baby can’t tell you what’s wrong. Pixie Scientific is a new company that hopes to give parents a bit more peace of mind by creating Smart Diapers. These disposable diapers have reagents that surround a QR code label, and the colors change depending on the condition of the infant’s urine. Take a picture of the image with your smartphone, and the data gets sent to the Cloud for analysis and reporting.
The system is designed to help identify whether or not the child is sufficiently hydrated. It can also provide early detection of medical conditions such as a urinary tract infection or diabetes. If the data suggests that something is out of the ordinary, the results can be automatically sent to a physician or other healthcare professional for follow-up and possible diagnosis of any condition that might require treatment.
The company already has the product in home trials, but has not published any statements about commercial availability. They had a crowd-funding project come up short last year, but continue to advance their research. They also are developing diapers for elderly patients with similar capabilities.
