New pacifier that monitors electrolytes in newborns created at Georgia Tech

Creators of an innovative pacifier believe it will transform neonatal care.

According to team lead and associate professor Hong Yeo in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech, this is the first device in the world that can measure a baby’s electrolyte concentrations continuously.

“We started to develop this technology based on a mission,” Yeo told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who came up with the concept at a pediatric technology conference.

The pacifier uses membrane censors to analyze babies’ saliva, allowing for a continuous data flow, which will help detect health issues soon and help clinicians to gain better understandings of their patients’ health. It features a microfluidic channel to collect saliva while monitoring sodium and potassium ions at the same time.

Credit: Christopher McKenney / Ga. Tech

Credit: Christopher McKenney / Ga. Tech

The device also integrates wireless technology, compatible with Bluetooth, for real-time data transmission to smartphones and tablets. The most anticipated feature of the device is that it offers a painless alternative to traditional blood draws.

“To make the pacifier wireless, we designed an ultrathin, membrane-based electronic circuit,” Hojoong Kim, a research professor at Georgia Tech’s WISH Center said in a press release. “We used our technology to make the circuit extremely thin and floppy, so it is flexible and soft in a way that it can be mounted to almost any surface.”

Creating the pacifier was an eye-opening experience for Yeo, who had never worked so directly with neonatal health in his career and quickly learned about the lack of noninvasive monitoring systems.

“They don’t have the necessary devices for babies because the market is not there,” Yeo said. “It really triggered me to change and think about new directions of my research.”

Through collaborations with organizations like Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Shriner’s Hospital for Children, Yeo has since directed more energy and resources toward devices and better technologies for these patients. Creating the pacifier also gave him the opportunity to speak with more parents and families of patients than his work typically requires — and he said the experience taught him a lot.

Credit: Christopher McKenney / Ga. Tech

Credit: Christopher McKenney / Ga. Tech

The team hopes in the future this technology will be expanded to patients outside of neonatal care, especially for older children, explained Yeo. He believes using saliva to measure for important biomarkers can also be greatly expanded.

“This is just the beginning,” Yeo said in a press release. “We hope to integrate the technology with other electrical sensors and systems to achieve comprehensive health monitoring that wasn’t possible until now.”