For few infants, a wet diaper needs to be changed immediately while the others just play for hours without causing a fit. But if worn too long, a wet diaper can cause painful rashes to your baby.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientists have invented an affordable smart diaper for your tiny tot. Combining a common diaper material with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. Ingenious!
The MIT scientists have come up with a cheap and compact RFID sensor that can detect whether a baby has wetted its diapers or not. Later on, it sends an alert to the caregivers about the same. The detection and alert message can be done without the use of any external power source like batteries.
The RFID tag is planted within the hydrogel, a material in the diaper that soaks up moisture. As the hydrogel becomes wet, it expands and becomes a bit conductive. This activates the RFID tag and sends a notification to the nearby receiver on their smartphone or computer who needs to be a meter away from the baby.
Making it a low-cost, the smart diaper is a disposable alternative to other smart technologies. With time, it’ll be able to record and identify health problems like signs of constipation. The RFID sensors can help nurses who work in neonatal units and take care of multiple babies at a time. It can be integrated into adult diapers, preventing urinary tract infections (UTI).
The brains behind this simple yet ingenious invention are of the MIT researchers, named Pankhuri Sen, Sai Nithin R. Kantareddy, Rahul Bhattacharyya, Sanjay E. Sarma and Joshua E. Siegel.
Hats off!
Low-cost “smart” diaper can notify caregiver when it’s wet https://t.co/VWLZo5f2Tg pic.twitter.com/eUBIdNkD0Y
— Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (@MIT) February 14, 2020
