Editor: Could you tell us about the overall structure of Your Pacifier?
Yamatsuta: Your Pacifier consists of three components: a pacifier (sensor), an app to be installed on smartphones used by parents, and a dashboard to be installed at local hospitals and national and local government medical departments. Of these, the "dashboard" collects location information and other data from the smartphones of users of Your Pacifier in that area, compiling it into a database that can be visualized. You can see what kind of tendency is seen in babies in which area ......, which means you can grasp "the place and situation where diseases that cause vomiting and diarrhea are prevalent" in a certain area. This will make it possible to detect outbreaks of viral infections and raise awareness about prevention.
Editor: What is the "smartphone app"?
Yamatsuta: First, the smartphone app displays the results of the moisture content measured by the "pacifier (sensor)". This is like the "body temperature" measured by a thermometer. Next, depending on the measured amount of moisture, the device will enter the "Question and Answer Mode". This is based on the "questions for judging the level of dehydration in babies" published by the Japan Academy of Pediatrics, etc. You will be asked to answer questions such as "how is the baby crying" and "how are the baby's body movements? Based on the results of these questions, the app decides whether you should take your baby to the hospital right away or wait and see.
To further develop the device in response to requests from parents
Editor: Please tell us about the current development status and future plans.
Yamatsuta: Other members of team Rota++ became busy with their studies, found a job or started working as a doctor, so we are currently developing with two people, me and a designer. Also, when we surveyed parents, we found that the current system that uses a pacifier as a moisture sensor can only measure the amount of moisture when the baby sucks on it, the baby hates it and spits it out, and we are worried that using a pacifier will make the teeth look bad. "I can't use a pacifier," "My baby hates it and spits it out," and "I'm worried that using a pacifier will damage her teeth. In addition to diarrhea and vomiting, babies also suffer from dehydration in the "summer heat," which has been covered in the news, so we are working to improve the system to measure water content more continuously. As for the shape of the sensor here, we're considering a wristband type, etc.
After the interview...
According to Mr. Yamatsuta, he would like to raise investment and spread the technology once the current technology is ready to be patented. He also said that if they focus on developing countries at first, they will get stuck in terms of funding, so they would like to spread the technology in developed countries in Europe and the United States first. As for domestic development, he said, "In Japan, there is a strong sense of value that 'parental love is the best! In Japan, there is a strong sense of value that 'parental love is the best' and there is a sense of resistance to baby tech. ...... However, I feel that expectations for BabyTech are steadily rising in Japan, especially among the younger generation. I would definitely like to see it commercialized in Japan.
