Owlet baby monitor sock moving to market

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/product_sock-Owlet.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]About nine months ago [TTA 6 Dec 12], the Owlet baby monitor in prototype won a student competition at Brigham Young University. It definitely ‘socked it” to this Editor at the time as an elegant way to monitor baby vital signs or signs of distress; it is a sensor-rich sock transmitting to a smartphone. While it still had pending patents, needed further prototyping and of course no FDA approval, I recommended “if you’re an angel looking for a highly marketable telehealth item–and with adult uses in hospitals and nursing homes–a trip to Utah may be in order.” Owlet is now seeking $100,000 in crowdfunding directly via its website and Amazon checkout (it was rejected by Kickstarter for being a baby product!) and will ship the device at an early bird rate of $159 once the funding is achieved. The sock monitors heart rate, blood oxygen, skin temperature, alerts for dangerous baby rollover onto the stomach and trends in sleep quality. The 2012 team are still involved and remained in Salt Lake City–no evidence of any angels (SEC) or accelerator involvement. According to co-founder Jacob Colvin, the funding will also assist with the company’s FDA filing so that they can add alarms to the vital signs.  Press release (PDF). Website with crowdfunding information (they are at $35,607 pledged from 217 supporters of their $100K goal, with 29 days left).