The Owlet Baby Monitor smart sock is now available for anxious parents.
The $249 sock, manufactured by start-up Owlet Baby Care, monitors pulse oximetry and will alert parents if a baby’s oxygen levels or heart rate enter dangerous levels. The sock transmits data via Bluetooth 4.0 to an included base station, which can then upload data to the Cloud and enable parents to view the info from an iOS app. (Android is not supported.)
The device has received the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval at Seattle Children’s Hospital, the company said, and it is seeking FDA clearance.
“As advanced monitoring technology is made appropriate for the home nursery, and information gathered from devices like the Owlet Baby Monitor give researchers the ability to study ongoing infant health, we hope to help doctors and parents improve infant care starting the moment the baby leaves the hospital,” said Kurt Workman, CEO and co-founder of Owlet Baby Care.
The Owlet operates on a rechargeable coin cell battery that needs to be charged daily. And, yes, the battery and monitor can be removed from the hypoallergenic, light-green sock, allowing it to be tossed in the wash.
