Finnish Researchers Developing a Digital Maternity Package

Every Finnish expectant mother can choose to receive a free of charge maternity package containing baby clothes and other useful items. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is currently developing a digital maternity package with the purpose of gathering reliable health information provided by various smart devices, electronic services, and guides into a single user interface. In the future, pregnant women and the parents of children can monitor their own health and that of their children more easily and comprehensively than today, using their smartphones, for example. The concept under development is probably unique in the world.

Digital health and wellbeing applications are part of the everyday life of many adults, but there is currently only a scant offering of services targeted at small children and families. One purpose of the digital maternity package planned by VTT is to reduce concerns related to the wellbeing of mothers and babies and make the everyday life of families easier, while examining whether some issues related to pregnancy or the development of the baby could be monitored at home or handled via digital services, thus making maternity and child health clinics more efficient.

As part of the project, VTT is developing both new smart products and digital services, and charting existing applications that would fit the concept of a digital maternity package. A smart soother and a bed sensor measuring a baby's sleep pattern, for example, could be part of a digital maternity package in the future. Sensors can be integrated into the smart soother, providing information on, for example, the temperature, the baby's movements or suction power. The data is transferred from the soother and the bed sensor to a display on a tablet, smartphone or computer, compiling information on, for example, the mother's diet and the progress of the pregnancy, the child's growth development and sleep pattern, or perhaps a chat service with a nurse. The digital maternity package also helps increase awareness of the existing digital applications and thus get the families to use them.

Ideas for digital services for families with children have been harvested by interviewing healthcare professionals and parents of small children.

"Families with children have demand for reliable, individual and easily available health information. The idea is that the digital maternity package would act as a long-time storage for data related to the pregnancy and infancy, allowing it to be utilised by public or private healthcare, too, should you so wish. The best end result is achieved if we can involve a comprehensive network of healthcare operators," says Olli Kuusisto, Senior Scientist at VTT.

VTT is currently seeking partners for the development and commercialisation of the digital maternity package. The product could be on the market in the next couple of years.

Digital services are transforming society
The digital maternity package is an example of how digital services and the Internet of Things can become an increasingly visible part of the everyday life of consumers and society at large.

"Digital services such as the maternity package under development can help make healthcare more efficient and increase its impact, while improving and expanding the quality of the services offered to people," Kuusisto remarks.

About VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
VTT is a leading multitechnological applied research organization in Northern Europe. VTT creates new technology and science-based innovations in co-operation with domestic and foreign partners. Every third Finnish technology innovation contains VTT expertise. VTT's turnover is EUR 310 million and its personnel totals 2,900.

Most Popular Now

Stepping Hill Hospital Announced as SPAR…

Stepping Hill Hospital, part of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, has replaced its bedside units with state-of-the art devices running a full range of information, engagement, communications and productivity apps, to...

DMEA 2025: Digital Health Worldwide in B…

8 - 10 April 2025, Berlin, Germany. From the AI Act, to the potential of the European Health Data Space, to the power of patient data in Scandinavia - DMEA 2025...

Is AI in Medicine Playing Fair?

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly integrates into health care, a new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reveals that all generative AI models may...

New System for the Early Detection of Au…

A team from the Human-Tech Institute-Universitat Politècnica de València has developed a new system for the early detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using virtual reality and artificial intelligence. The...

Generative AI's Diagnostic Capabili…

The use of generative AI for diagnostics has attracted attention in the medical field and many research papers have been published on this topic. However, because the evaluation criteria were...

Diagnoses and Treatment Recommendations …

A new study led by Prof. Dan Zeltzer, a digital health expert from the Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv University, compared the quality of diagnostic and treatment recommendations...

AI Tool can Track Effectiveness of Multi…

A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can help interpret and assess how well treatments are working for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been developed by UCL researchers. AI uses...

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust g…

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust has marked an important milestone in connecting busy radiologists across large parts of South East England, following the successful go live of Sectra's enterprise...

Dr Jason Broch Joins the Highland Market…

The Highland Marketing advisory board has welcomed a new member - Dr Jason Broch, a GP and director with a strong track record in the NHS and IT-enabled transformation. Dr Broch...

DMEA 2025 Ends with Record Attendance an…

8 - 10 April 2025, Berlin, Germany. DMEA 2025 came to a successful close with record attendance and an impressive program. 20,500 participants attended Europe's leading digital health event over the...

Multi-Resistance in Bacteria Predicted b…

An AI model trained on large amounts of genetic data can predict whether bacteria will become antibiotic-resistant. The new study shows that antibiotic resistance is more easily transmitted between genetically...

AI-Driven Smart Devices to Transform Hea…

AI-powered, internet-connected medical devices have the potential to revolutionise healthcare by enabling early disease detection, real-time patient monitoring, and personalised treatments, a new study suggests. They are already saving lives...