We're a team of clinicians, engineers, and AI scientists exploring how continuous monitoring technologies could help detect fetal distress earlier and improve pregnancy outcomes.
Despite advances in prenatal care, stillbirth rates in developed nations have remained largely unchanged for two decades. We know that additional monitoring reduces stillbirths and adverse outcomes - but it's currently only available in-hospital and to a small fraction of parents.
Stillbirth rate with and without antenatal fetal growth restriction (FGR) detection:
Improved outcomes in detected cases are largely due to earlier, well-timed delivery (median 10 days earlier than undetected cases).
Current prenatal care relies on periodic snapshots; ultrasounds every few weeks, occasional non-stress tests. Yet conditions like fetal growth restriction (FGR) develop gradually, and warning signs often emerge between clinical visits.
Research shows that when FGR is detected early, outcomes improve dramatically; detection roughly halves stillbirth risk. But with limited sonographer availability, most women receive only 2-3 ultrasounds throughout pregnancy, leaving dangerous conditions unidentified.
Today, most mothers' primary tool for monitoring their baby is “kick counting”— tracking fetal movements manually. But this method is time-intensive, subjective, and by the time movement patterns change noticeably, it's often too late for intervention.
There is urgent need to improve detection and monitoring of FGR to improve outcomes. Short-term recordings limit their utility.
— Frontiers in Physiology, 2022Make monitoring continuous, affordable, and universally accessible - not just for high-risk pregnancies, but for every parent who wants peace of mind.
50% of mothers worry about fetal movement during pregnancy and ~10% go to hospital at some point just for reassurance. Here's what expectant parents told us they want:
A way for baby to be continuously monitored but also in a way that they are not disturbed. I could then get updates whenever I wanted to check on baby.
Having a keyhole view on what's going on—making sure my baby still has a heartbeat, growing at the rate expected.
A device that tracks kicks FOR you instead of having to sit there and try to keep track of them.
Like one of those diabetes monitors but on my belly.
An easy to use app that tracks my baby’s growth, health stats, and movements in real time.
A wearable that safely tracks the baby’s heartbeat and movements, synced with an app that gives clear daily updates and alerts my doctor if something seems off.
Source: Berkeley Human-Centered Design Parent Interviews, 2024
We're investigating how emerging technologies could enable earlier detection of fetal distress through more frequent, accessible monitoring.
Investigating how individualized growth curves, rather than population-based percentiles, could improve early identification of growth restriction.
Exploring how combining multiple sensor modalities could provide complementary signals for fetal wellbeing assessment in non-clinical settings.
Researching machine learning approaches to interpreting complex fetal data, enabling detection of subtle patterns that indicate developing complications.
Studying how continuous monitoring data could integrate with existing clinical pathways, supporting clinical care.
Our research is ongoing. We are currently in early-stage feasibility studies and are not making claims about clinical efficacy. We are committed to rigorous validation through proper clinical trials.
A multidisciplinary team combining clinical expertise in maternal-fetal medicine, experience building medical devices, and cutting-edge AI research.
Serial founder of AI-enabled medical wearables. Led healthcare AI at GoogleX.
Founder, consumer hardware and marketing specialist. Former Apple partnerships lead.
Fellowship-trained surgeon focused on healthcare technology innovation.
AI pregnancy imaging leader. Co-founder of Intelligent Ultrasound (acq'd).
Expert in causal inference and AI for targeting interventions.
Our work builds on decades of research in maternal-fetal medicine, ultrasound imaging, and AI-assisted diagnostics.
NPJ Women's Health
Frontiers in Physiology
Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research
JAMA Health Forum
The Lancet
Ultrasound in Obstetrics
We're building a network of researchers, clinicians, and advocates committed to improving pregnancy outcomes. If you share our mission, we'd love to connect.