Australian made wearable technology lifeline for rural mothers claims James Dyson Award

AN Australian-made wearable gadget promising to change the way pregnant women get healthcare has just claimed a national award.

Remote pregnancy monitor

A PROJECT to equip rural expectant mothers with wearable technology has taken out Australia’s James Dyson Award, with its 22-year-old inventor saying the device could completely “change the way mothers receive healthcare”.

The former RMIT industrial design student Sarah Heimeier said she came up with idea for the wearable device, named Jana, after talking to mothers in rural Australia.

More than half of Australia’s country maternity wards have shut in the past 15 years, according to a National Rural Health Alliance study, and women in rural communities are less likely to seek help from specialists and more likely to face greater costs for doing so.

Heart monitor ... The small remote pregnancy monitor developed by RMIT University student Sarah Heimeier has won the James Dyson Award in Australia.

Ms Heimeier said the Jana wearable device was a small product pregnant women could wear on their stomachs that could measure glucose levels, blood pressure, and a foetal heart rate using sound waves bouncing off bodily tissues.

The device would transfer its data to a smartphone app for the woman to view, and the information would also be sent to a doctor who could monitor any changes in the pregnancy, identifying potential problems.

SMARTWATCHES: Top 5 wearable tech devices to buy this Christmas

WEARABLE: More than 1 in 4 Aussies intend to buy wearable tech

“If Jana were a reality, it would mean a complete change to the way mothers receive healthcare,” Ms Heimeier said.

“It wouldn’t matter the division of prenatal care or where you live, all mothers would be able to receive a form of personalised healthcare.”

Ms Heimeier said the national James Dyson Award, which came with a $3600 first prize, was “a major deal for the project and myself” and she would continue to develop the technology.

The awards run in 18 countries, with the international winners from Canada creating a laptop-sized device that could print computer circuit boards.