A University of Delaware physical therapy professor is creating a smart baby monitor to spot developmental delays earlier.
Catching developmental delays like Autism early can make a big difference in health outcomes later in life.
But it’s difficult to diagnose those delays early during crucial child development years.
Most developmental delays are diagnosed through well-visits, but many times something may be missed because to diagnose correctly it’s best to see kids in different contexts.
That’s where UD associate professor Michele Lobo’s smart baby monitor comes into play since monitors are with a child regularly.
Lobo explains how the monitor would work.
"Then this computer vision could look at the video and say, 'oh this is how often I'm seeing these things or I'm not seeing these things enough,' provide that information to the doctor, and the doctor can get a good idea about how the baby's doing and if that matches what would be expected for this age," said Lobo.
Lobo– a pediatric physical therapist - and Christiana Care are talking to families with kids at risk, pediatricians and primary care providers to hone their concept
"Because we want to figure out how we can make this so that it's easy for parents to use, it's something acceptable to them because you're talking about video and compiling information from videos securely - sharing it with their doctors. How can we make them most secure in that process and make it easy for them to use at home, and then how can we put together the information for the pediatricians," said Lobo.
Lobo notes the smart baby monitor is still a few years away, but the hope is it will eventually help spot delays earlier in childhood.
