{"686766":{"#nid":"686766","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Advancing Neonatal Health Monitoring in Ethiopia","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESoft, wearable system offers continuous wireless monitoring of newborns\u2019 health.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EA new, soft, all-in-one, wearable system has been designed for continuous wireless monitoring of neonatal health in low-resource settings. Developed by Georgia Tech researchers using advanced packaging technologies, the system features a chest-mounted patch and a forehead-mounted pulse oximeter that transmits real-time data to a smartphone app.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe wearable device measures and records important clinical parameters such as heart rate, respiration rate, temperature, electrocardiograms, and blood oxygen saturation. Speedy detection of abnormal readings in resource-challenged neonatal units could significantly reduce newborn mortality rates.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThe device\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41746-025-01974-8\u0022\u003Epilot study,\u003C\/a\u003E conducted at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) in Addis Ababa, in collaboration with Abebaw Fekadu, Ph.D., from the Centre for Innovative Drug Development and Therapeutic Trials for Africa (CDT Africa Inc.), and neonatologist Asrat Demtse, M.D., from the TASH department of pediatrics, demonstrated a significant improvement over current vital sign monitoring and recording methods by providing continuous oversight using less medical equipment while also reducing handwritten paper tracking. Vital signs are a group of the most crucial medical data that indicate the status of the body\u0027s life-sustaining functions. The pairing of this wearable system with a smartphone app automated the monitoring process and delivered a superior level of neonatal care compared to the current processes at Ethiopia\u2019s best hospital.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMedical staff and parents also observed a reduced need to wake their babies when using the wearable monitoring system. In addition, after participating in the study, 84% of Ethiopian parents said they would use the device at home.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cProfessor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/yeo\u0022\u003EHong Yeo\u003C\/a\u003E and I connected immediately after he gave a brief research talk about a new, wearable cardiac monitor for children,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/gleason\u0022\u003ERudy Gleason\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cI asked him if we could co-develop a wearable device for newborn babies in Ethiopia that measured not one, but a variety of vital signs. We both thought it was a great idea.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYeo and Gleason are faculty members in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech. And both are affiliated with Georgia Tech\u2019s Institute for People and Technology, which seeks to improve global health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2009, Gleason and his wife were in the process of adopting a baby from Ethiopia named Kennedy. Before they could bring her home, however, she died \u2014 the result, Gleason said, of a seemingly preventable combination of malnutrition and diarrhea.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis loss redirected my academic teaching, research, and service activities at Georgia Tech,\u201d said Gleason. \u201cSince then, I\u2019ve spent most of my career focused on developing resource-appropriate biomedical devices to reduce maternal and child mortality.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen we started this latest study, Ethiopian parents were reluctant to participate. But once we recruited a few mothers in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), everyone in the NICU community wanted their child to participate in our wearable health monitoring system.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Yeo, \u201cWe designed the wearable patch as a safe, clinical-grade solution with minimal skin irritation. Its key design advantage lies in the use of nanomembranes, which allows the device to be soft and highly conformal to the baby\u0027s skin. Wearing the device helps to ensure critical events are not missed since the built-in automation acts as a force multiplier, freeing clinical staff to focus more on complex decision-making rather than manual data acquisition.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRudy has a deep love for the people of Ethiopia. I feel fortunate to have met him as we embark on this project aimed at helping sick babies in the country. Without his support, I could not envision bringing this technology to Ethiopia,\u201d said Yeo.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring the past decade, child mortality rates have decreased in Ethiopia, but newborn deaths have remained mostly unchanged. Both Yeo and Gleason feel their new wearable neonatal device could significantly lower mortality rates for newborns in Ethiopia as they advance this research.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECitation:\u003C\/strong\u003E Zhou, L., Joseph, M., Lee, Y.J. \u003Cem\u003Eet al\u003C\/em\u003E. Soft, all-in-one, nanomembrane wearable system for advancing neonatal health monitoring in Ethiopia. \u003Cem\u003Enpj Digit. Med.\u003C\/em\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003E8\u003C\/strong\u003E, 575 (2025).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDOI:\u003C\/strong\u003E https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41746-025-01974-8\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFunding:\u003C\/strong\u003E Gates Foundation (INV-006189) and the National Institutes of Health (R01HD100635). This work was also supported by the Imlay Foundation\u2014Innovation Fund.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESoft, wearable system offers continuous wireless monitoring of newborns\u2019 health.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Soft, wearable system offers continuous wireless monitoring of newborns\u2019 health."}],"uid":"27513","created_gmt":"2025-12-08 14:09:04","changed_gmt":"2025-12-08 16:16:17","author":"Walter Rich","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-12-08T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-12-08T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678779":{"id":"678779","type":"image","title":"Wearable chest-mounted patch and forehead-mounted pulse oximeter shown on a mannequin baby for illustration","body":"\u003Cp\u003EWearable chest-mounted patch and forehead-mounted pulse oximeter shown on a mannequin baby for illustration\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1765202853","gmt_created":"2025-12-08 14:07:33","changed":"1765202877","gmt_changed":"2025-12-08 14:07:57","alt":"Wearable chest-mounted patch and forehead-mounted pulse oximeter shown on a mannequin baby for illustration","file":{"fid":"262854","name":"BabyMannequin-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/08\/BabyMannequin-1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/08\/BabyMannequin-1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2874342,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/12\/08\/BabyMannequin-1.jpg?itok=L_YBPpUG"}},"678778":{"id":"678778","type":"image","title":"Wearable chest-mounted patch and forehead-mounted pulse oximeter shown close-up","body":"\u003Cp\u003EWearable chest-mounted patch and forehead-mounted pulse oximeter shown close-up\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1765202818","gmt_created":"2025-12-08 14:06:58","changed":"1765202834","gmt_changed":"2025-12-08 14:07:14","alt":"Wearable chest-mounted patch and forehead-mounted pulse oximeter shown close-up","file":{"fid":"262853","name":"Three-Sensors-Together.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/08\/Three-Sensors-Together.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/08\/Three-Sensors-Together.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1521119,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/12\/08\/Three-Sensors-Together.jpg?itok=1FoqLTDU"}},"678777":{"id":"678777","type":"image","title":"Professor Rudy Gleason with baby and parents at a hospital in Ethiopia","body":"\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Rudy Gleason with baby and parents at a hospital in Ethiopia\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1765202788","gmt_created":"2025-12-08 14:06:28","changed":"1765202804","gmt_changed":"2025-12-08 14:06:44","alt":"Professor Rudy Gleason with baby and parents at a hospital in Ethiopia","file":{"fid":"262852","name":"Gleason-in-Hospital.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/08\/Gleason-in-Hospital.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/08\/Gleason-in-Hospital.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":598089,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/12\/08\/Gleason-in-Hospital.jpg?itok=dxKJnZlo"}},"678776":{"id":"678776","type":"image","title":"Professors Hong Yeo and Rudy Gleason","body":"\u003Cp\u003EProfessors Hong Yeo and Rudy Gleason\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1765202713","gmt_created":"2025-12-08 14:05:13","changed":"1765202763","gmt_changed":"2025-12-08 14:06:03","alt":"Professors Hong Yeo and Rudy Gleason","file":{"fid":"262851","name":"Hong-yeo-and-Gleason.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/08\/Hong-yeo-and-Gleason.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/12\/08\/Hong-yeo-and-Gleason.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":291765,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/12\/08\/Hong-yeo-and-Gleason.jpg?itok=4sfdbm0W"}}},"media_ids":["678779","678778","678777","678776"],"groups":[{"id":"69599","name":"IPaT"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"188084","name":"go-ipat"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto: walter.rich@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EResearch Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["walter.rich@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}