AI-guided smart pacifier for real-time neonatal breathing monitoring
Official title: SCH: AI-Guided Intraoral Multimodal Active Sound Sensing for Advanced Pulmonary Function Characterization
Funded at Purdue University · NIH-11397767 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new AI-powered, non-invasive sensor built into a smart pacifier could continuously monitor breathing in newborns to better understand and manage respiratory problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Purdue University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (West Lafayette, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2025 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $299,690 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL184140-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11397767 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Newborns with respiratory concerns or at high risk of respiratory distress in neonatal care settings.
✕Less likely to help
Healthy term newborns without respiratory issues may experience limited direct benefit from this device.
What this research studies
This project develops a compact smart pacifier that uses active sound sensing and AI analysis to monitor neonates’ breathing in real time. It creates a multimodal approach, emitting gentle sound stimuli and interpreting reflections to assess lung function with a specialized neural network (MASS-RespNet). The research includes designing low-power hardware, integrating sensors into a neonatal device, and building an AI pipeline that can deliver actionable respiratory insights at the bedside. The goal is to improve early detection of respiratory distress and guide care for vulnerable infants while minimizing discomfort and risk.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, it could enable continuous, non-invasive respiratory monitoring in newborns, potentially reducing complications and hospital stays.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work in neonatal monitoring with non-invasive sensors shows promise, but integration with AI-driven active sound sensing in a pacifier is novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Purdue University
West Lafayette, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Faezipour, Miad — Purdue University
- Study coordinator: Faezipour, Miad
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.