Teddy the Guardian tracks the vital signs of kids in hospitals

Hospitals can be scary propositions for kids. But Teddy the Guardian can make the trip easier.

Teddy is a smart bear who has sensors built into his paw. When a child squeezes it, it collects data including heart rate, oxygen levels in the blood, and body temperature. It takes about two to five seconds. It does so by shining an infrared light into the child’s finger and measuring what happens to the light. And it disguises what could be threatening medical technology in a plush toy.

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Teddy the Guardian was on display at the Eureka Park startup section of the 2014 International CES, the big tech trade show in Las Vegas.

London-based startup has made something smart out a plush toy, embedded with certified medical sensors. It sends that data wirelessly to a tablet, smartphone, or web application that a pediatrician can view.

“It’s much more intuitive,” said Josipa Majic, founder of Teddy The Guardian. “We have increased the measurements in hospitals up to 70 times a day and reduced the staff time of a nurse by 90 minutes a day. It also creates a less stressful experience for the child.”

To get the child to squeeze the palm of Teddy the Guardian, caregivers just tell them they will feel better if they squeeze the paw. That, by itself, helps reduuce a child’s stress. Teddy can measure a child’s health under more normal conditions, rather than heightened stress conditions.

The company also has offices in Zagreb, Croatia, where she and co-founder Anna Burica. They are also creating their own medtech lab to create a new generation of medical technology products. The vision is to be a business-to-business innovation lab for the healthcare, nutrition, and fashion industries.

Teddy the Guardian sells for 169 euros, or $230. The company expects to be able to ship the first batch of Teddy the Guardian bears to hospitals in April. So far, the company has had more than $689,000 in orders since July.

The company has 16 employees.

 

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