Researchers develop wearable airbag vest to prevent accidental infant suffocation

By Lim Chang-won Posted : April 13, 2020, 14:02 Updated : April 13, 2020, 14:02

[Courtesy of the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology]

SEOUL -- Some infant deaths are caused by entrapment, suffocation, or strangulation. Accidental suffocation results from airway obstruction causing death from oxygen deprivation and increased carbon dioxide. Autopsy findings and death scenes often reveal possible asphyxiating conditions, such as prone sleep.

To prevent suffocation caused by prone sleep, South Korean researchers have developed a vest-type wearable airbag system with six pressure sensors built into the chest, back and side to detect movements in real time. If the baby lies prone, a pressure sensor in the chest will detect it and activate the airbag, while an alarm will sound on the guardian's smartphone through a Bluetooth communication module.

The Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) has developed the system jointly with two companies -- Safeware, a wearable airbag maker, and Amano Korea which provides system technology. Airbags filled with carbon dioxide have no gunpowder content, so there is no risk of burns, and are designed to swell slowly to reduce the impact on the baby's chest.
 

[Courtesy of the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology]

It remains inflated for more than 20 seconds, with its thickness about 2.5 centimeters, allowing the baby to secure airways. The lining uses eco-friendly fibers, and the electromagnetic shielding of telecom modules has been verified.

"It will be available not only for families raising infants but also for hospital neonatal rooms and daycare centers," said KITECH researcher Choi Sung-hwan. Products would be available next year after the institute transferred technologies.

 
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