Design Brief
To identify medical health care ideas for pediatric use by considering the safety and ergonomics aspects of lifestyle baby products for care givers to use on the development of a child aged 0 to 12 years old.
Corti Smart Pacifier
Corti is a smart pacifier that detects the stress hormone present in saliva, cortisol. It is designed for infants that have anxiety disorders that are usually difficult to distinguish and it allows parents to early detect any cortisol insufficiency or oversupply, at the same time monitor their child’s stress level.
Statistics obtained from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Children’s Mental Health
Overview
Excess stress is hazardous to everyone. For infants and toddlers facing toxic stress due to traumatic and adverse events or living situations, it can mean stunted growth, behavioral challenges, struggles in school and troubled adulthood.
Research has proven that early intervention can help regulate cortisol levels in infants and toddlers. However, for children in consistently stressful situations, cortisol levels can stay elevated throughout the day and lead to long-term negative effects on the child’s development. Therefore, identifying and addressing toxic stress in children early is beneficial to both children and parents as it is more cost-effective to prevent future health and mental health problems than to treat them later in life.
What is Cortisol?
Cortisol is a hormone directly related to anxiety and stress present in blood, saliva and sweat. It manages how the body breaks down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. It controls mood, motivation, and fear.
However, too little or too much can lead to serious health issues.
Establishment of Reference Ranges for Cortisol in Neonates, Infants, Children and Adolescents
A new polymer lab-on-a-chip (LOC) based on a microfluidic capillary flow assay (MCFA) with on-chip dried reagents was newly developed and fully characterized for the detection of unbound cortisol in saliva.
Unbound cortisol in saliva, which can be detected with non-invasive sampling, is now considered as one of the most effective biomarkers for the biochemical evaluation of common mental disorders.
Problem
"If babies are exposed to irregular cortisol levels, they are more likely to develop behavior problems and stress-related diseases later in life."
Through a small peforation on the nipple, the pacifier collects saliva from the child and is analysed by a microchip strip that sends the information real-time to parents’ smartphone on the cortisol level in child.
