Spotlight on the News

NICHD Seeks Co-Partners or Licensees to Further Develop Wireless Device

Inventors at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), https://nichd.nih.gov have created a wearable wireless device to use to continuously monitor pregnancy health.

The device can monitor placental oxygenation levels, multiple physiological signals, and movement activities of the fetus and mother. Current non-invasive techniques are expensive, bulky, and do not offer continuous monitoring of fetal physiologic signals and placental oxygenation. The device includes a compact control board, flexible near-infrared spectroscopy probe, and multiple accelerator probes.

Potential commercial applications for this device includes:

1. Low cost and flexible method for continuously monitoring pregnancy health.
2. Early identification of adverse outcomes such as reduced uteroplacental perfusion and stillbirth
3. Potential for the device to be applied in general health and sleep monitoring.
4. Daily measurement results may be collected by a cellphone and then uploaded to the cloud so the patient's healthcare provider can remotely review and provide health information.

NICHD is looking for co-development research partners and/or licensees for clinical validation and to further develop this technology to really help in pregnancy.

Go to the NIH Office for Technology Transfer https://www.techtransfer.nih.gov for news on this licensing opportunity for research co-development partners and/or licensees for clinical validation plus information on how to help further develop the technology.

For more details on the licensing opportunity for a wearable device for monitoring pregnancy health, go to https://www.transfer.nih.gov/news/co-development-or-licensing-opportunity-for-a-wearable-device.