New for the NICU

Northwestern University may be on the brink of the next big thing for NICU patients. Needing constant monitoring, babies in the NICU have previously been hooked up to multitudes of bulky wires and sensors.

These wires make it difficult for the family to hold the already fragile infant and alters the connection a mother is able to form with her child early on. I understand these struggles from personal experience with my little brother. Being 12 years old when he was born, I was well aware of what was going on during his hospitalization and the affect that all the wiring had.

Researchers at Northwestern have begun the testing of wireless sensors that have the potential to replace the wire based monitors now being used. These sensors would be placed on the infants chest and foot and would monitor heart rate, breathing rate, and other vital signs.

These sensors are more delicate and allow for the fragile skin of these children to not be torn, which has happened in the past with the various wiring attachments. Due to the thin and flexible hold of these sensors, researchers have found that they could also benefit burn patients who need monitoring but have delicate skin conditions.

Almost 100 babies in two different Chicago hospitals have benefited from this new and improved technology but researchers have not fully removed all other wires during the use of these new sensors.