The world has been on a mission to make everything and anything "smart," and diapers are no exception.
"Smart Diapers" are designed to test wet diapers for health information. The disposable diapers employ a dry-reagent panel (a stick used to test urine in doctor's offices) to gather data on the baby's health, ABC News reported.
The front of the diaper has a device similar to a QR code, which parents are asked to scan once a day to make sure their child is in good health, according to Pixie Scientific.
The system will gather information on urination patterns in order to detect dehydration, urinary tract infections, and kidney problems. The app will alert parents if anything out of the ordinary is found.
Jennie Rubinshteyn and Yaroslav Faybishenko, the husband and wife creators of the family business, got the idea for Smart Diapers from their own crying infant.
"I was being paranoid. I couldn't stop asking myself and my husband, 'What is in her diaper? What's in her diaper?'" Rubinshteyn told ABC.
The diapers are still being tested; the creators are working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval. In the future they plan to test the Smart Diapers in pediatric hospitals.
The futuristic baby products are expected to cost about 30 to 40 percent more than regular diapers.
Ari Brown, a pediatrician and author, isn't sure the Smart Diapers are necessary.
"I am not sure you need this for the average kid. I'm not confident this is a useful screen for a bladder infection because it's not a clean specimen. Also, for these highly anxious parents, I am not sure it will be reassuring. It might be alarming, in fact," she said.
The entrepreneurial couple think the idea will get children help quicker, if necessary.
"What we want to build is protection that's unobtrusive and integrates with a parent's work flow." Faybishenko said. "It speaks up when there is a reason to be concerned. It is something that stays silent most of the time, but speaks up when you need to take your child to a doctor."
This is not the first diaper proposed with smart technology, Huggies Brazil is creating a "TweetPee" app, ABC reported.
The diaper will have an "owl-shaped plastic humidity sensor" which will tweet parents when it's time to change the baby.
The app will also keep track of how many diapers the family has used and when it's time to order more.
WATCH "SMART DIAPER"
WATCH "TWEETPEE"
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