New Findings: Superior Home-Monitoring Technology Improves Usability, Care Access, and Reduces Parental Anxiety in Newborns

LEHI, Utah, Dec. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- An article published today in the medical peer-reviewed journal, Global Pediatric Health, addresses the need to revisit the decades-old negative stance on the use of home-monitoring in healthy infants, and the potential of the new technology to enhance care access and delivery in a high-risk population.

The manuscript provides unique insights into the home use of Owlet Smart Sock baby monitor in 47,495 newborns. Results suggest that home-monitoring with Owlet could provide valuable insights into the physiology of newborns and improve preventive care in healthy infants, and also serve as a natural extension to the management of the high-risk newborns. The article, "Initial Experience and Usage Patterns with the Owlet Smart Sock Monitor in 47,495 Newborns," can be read in full here.

"The Smart Sock developed by Owlet Baby Care is representative of new technologies having potential clinical value. We look forward to future studies to identify whether there are any cost-effective applications that will improve infant care and outcomes," said Dr. Carl Hunt, a prominent neonatologist who dedicated decades of his research to infant care, including co-authoring the CHIME study. 

Key findings shared in the article include:

• Proof of "Peace of Mind:" 96 percent of parents using Owlet felt less anxious, debunking the long-held theory that in-home monitoring leads to more anxiety for parents.
• Better Quality Sleep for Parents: 94 percent of parents reported better sleep quality while using the Owlet Smart Sock Baby Monitor.
• Generation Shift, Knowledge-Empowered Millennial Parents: 75 percent use in-home monitoring for peace of mind or the desire to know more about their child.
• Healthcare Confidence: 37 percent of Owlet users had at least one healthcare industry professional in the household.
• Safe Sleep for Babies: 82 percent of parents reported practicing the safe sleep guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
• Affordability: Nearly one-third of the early adopter population, using the Smart Sock, was at or below the median income level published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

"To our knowledge, this is the most extensive dataset that describes advantages of the new generation of monitoring technology by Owlet," said Dr. Milena Adamian, lead contributing author of the paper and vice president of Health Affairs at Owlet Baby Care. "This analysis validates parental experience, device usage patterns and normative values of oxygen levels and heart rate, analyzed from tens of thousands of newborns monitored at home in the first 18 months of life."

The Owlet Smart Sock is a consumer health and wellness product. Though not yet an FDA-cleared device, sharing Owlet experience sets an example of full transparency and compliance with the recently issued FDA's Guidance document, "Sharing Patient-Specific Information from Medical Devices with Patients Upon Request."

The article is authored by Michelle I. Dangerfield, Kenneth Ward, MD, Luke Davidson and Milena Adamian, MD, PhD, all of Owlet Baby Care.

About the Owlet Smart Sock
The Owlet Smart Sock uses pulse oximetry technology to track a baby's heart rate and oxygen levels, designed to notify parents if those levels fall outside the preset zone. This technology has been miniaturized and made wireless, worn as a "sock" on a baby's foot while sleeping. The Smart Sock sends the information via Bluetooth Low Energy to a nearby Base Station, which shares status update with parents with colored lights and audible notifications. The information can then be sent from the Base Station, via Wi-Fi to the cloud, so parents can view live readings and receive notifications from their smartphone, whether they're down the hall, across town or around the world.

SOURCE Owlet Baby Care

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http://www.owletcare.com