Smart cot 'detects infant death risk'

Babies should sleep on their backs

A smart cot which monitors babies while they sleep could help in the battle against cot death, say scientists.

The cot contains 384 pressure sensors under the mattress which monitor how the baby is lying and its breathing.

This sort of device could be useful if you want peace of mind, but it's not necessary if you make the sleep environment safe

Marian Willinger, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

By analysing pressure distribution from these sensors, the system determines whether the infant is lying face down or on its back and whether it is quiet, moving or crying.

Tatsuya Harada of the University of Tokyo, who is developing the cot, said there was good reason to believe that changes in posture and breathing could give parents early warning if their baby is in difficulty.

The cause of cot death, also known as sudden infant death syndrome, is not known but it is thought cases can be avoided by putting babies on their backs while they are sleeping.

Harada said hospital systems for monitoring babies at risk could not currently be transferred to the home because the sensors are placed on the child, restricting their movement.

Movement

The new system would recognise movement in different parts of the body, such as the head, abdomen and hips, to build up an accurate picture of the infant's breathing and posture, he said.

And it could adapt to a growing infant despite the drastic changes in the proportions of the body as the infant gets bigger, New Scientist magazine reports.

The system has been used with 50 babies aged under one in preliminary tests designed to uncover the algorithms the software needs to interpret data from the pressure sensors.

Harada, who has worked with doctors at the National Children's Hospital in Tokyo, is trying to improve the system by increasing the number of sensors.

Cot death advice

Put your baby on its back to sleep

Create a smoke-free zone around your baby

Do not let your baby get too hot

Place baby at foot of bed to prevent wriggling under covers

Have your baby immunised

The system will not be available to parents for at least three years and Marian Willinger of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in the US, said she would reserve judgement until results are available.

"This sort of device could be useful if you want peace of mind, but it's not necessary if you make the sleep environment safe. The primary issue is to get parents and caregivers to be consistent in placing infants on their backs," she said.

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) expressed doubts about the development.

Dr Sara Levene, FSID's Medical Advisor, said: "There is no existing evidence that there are any early warning signs for SIDS that can be picked up by monitoring, so there is no particular reason to believe that this device will have any practical value for parents."

But she added: "This product may, after further development, have some use in research studies, once systems have been devised for analysing the data."