SIDS Alert Device

SIDS stands for sudden infant death syndrome and is one of the leading causes for infant deaths in the United States. It is most common for infants in the age range of newborns to 6 months old. The death occurs suddenly with no symptoms and no predictions based on medical history. Detailed autopsies cannot point out the reasoning behind the death either. There is no known causes for SIDS, however infants are at highest risk when they are sleeping. Our senior design project is intended to provide a modern monitoring system for a sleeping infant. We have designed an ankle strap that can monitor an infant’s heart rate and body temperature. The vital signs will be taken and recorded periodically while the strap is worn. In the event that an infant’s vital signs are read to be outside of their normal range, the device will send a text message to a care giver. An acceptable response time for an infant in distress is about two to five minutes. Anything above five minutes without oxygen will lead to extreme brain damage and possible death. Our device will detect the onset of an infant losing oxygen and this will allow a care giver to monitor and act promptly to any abnormalities. Once the body starts to lose oxygen, the heart will try to pump more blood throughout the body. This causes the heart rate to increase. The device will be able to detect this increase in heart rate and alert, as the increase in heart rate is usually more drastic than subtle. The device is compact and not harmful to an infant. It uses noninvasive measuring techniques in order to obtain vital sign readings. This device is intended to alert someone of the possible onset of SIDS and allow for a quick response time, in order to help reduce infant fatalities