Pulse Oximetry
If you’ve ever been to the hospital, you might remember a little clip about the size of a clothespin gripping your finger. That clip is called a pulse oximeter, and it shines a little light through your skin to measure how much light is absorbed by your red blood cells, which varies depending on how much oxygen is bound to them. Simply put, that little clip helped keep track of important information while you were resting up in your hospital bed.
What Does it Track?
The Smart Sock tracks oxygen levels and heart rate. These two variables help give you a view into how your baby is doing.
Oxygen levels represent the percentage of oxygen in your baby’s blood. This can vary when your little one is filling their diaper or eating. Due to this, we do not recommend using the Smart Sock when your baby is awake and/or nursing.
Heart rate, or pulse rate, signified how many times your baby's heart beats in one minute and it can also vary. Take your heart rate for instance: it is affected by your body size, general health, medical conditions, and activity levels.
Infants’ heart rates vary too and are inherently higher than an adult’s heart rate. When your baby is sleeping deeply, his or her heart rate will naturally be quite a bit lower than when she is sleeping lightly*.
Most importantly, if you notice anything unusual in your baby’s breathing or skin pigmentation, or if you have other questions about your baby’s health, consult your pediatrician for further advice.
How Does it Work?
The Smart Sensor combines the power of pulse oximetry with Bluetooth to track and communicate key health and wellness data from the infant. Owlet has reduced the size and cost of this technology and placed it into a device that flexes and shapes to the infant’s foot, which then wirelessly communicates this data to the base station. The base station sends this to the cloud, which then allows you to view data on your smart device.