\u201cBabies are so fragile and there\u2019s no way that we can communicate with them,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can\u2019t just ask a baby to breathe into a device to collect the breathing pattern. So we thought of something that is a natural interface for infants, and what better than a pacifier?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faezipour and her team recently received a $1.19 million grant toward developing the smart pacifier from the National Institutes of Health\u2019s (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The four-year smart pacifier project led by Purdue will utilize sound sensing technology and artificial intelligence-based analysis to track babies\u2019 breathing in real time, safely and noninvasively. The device analyzes breathing sounds to assess the infant\u2019s cardiopulmonary function and wirelessly transmits data to a parent\u2019s phone or a physician\u2019s laptop, making it easier to detect problems early at home or in the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faezipour said sound waves are emitted into the respiratory airway and then reflected back. That sound reflection is an echo \u2014 similar to radar or sonar \u2014 that can tell doctors a lot of meaningful information about the breathing pattern of the infant patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA particular frequency could give us information about the heart rate, while another frequency could give us information about the lung volume, the lung capacity, respiratory rate and other details,\u201d said Faezipour, who is also a member of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering and a core faculty member of the Applied AI Research Center at Purdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The research links two important university initiatives: Purdue Computes, which emphasizes AI as one of four pillars of an expanding technological and computational environment, and Purdue One Health, driven by its goal of delivering real-world impacts by solving problems in human, animal and plant health and fostering economic growth through industry partnerships and programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faezipour disclosed the smart pacifier to the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization<\/a>, which has applied for a patent to protect the intellectual property. Industry partners interested in developing or commercializing the work should contact Patrick Finnerty, assistant director of business development and licensing, life sciences, at pwfinnerty@prf.org<\/a> about track code 70507.<\/p>\n\n\n The smart pacifier expands upon Faezipour\u2019s previous research regarding breathing sounds with adults. She said the first two years of the project will be used to fine-tune the smart pacifier and AI model, followed by two years of testing. The grant is one of two Faezipour received in September for her research. She also received funds from a $1.2 million grant funded by the NIH\u2019s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health for her work on a cutting-edge implant for diabetes care that targets the body\u2019s nerve pathways using advanced circuitry and AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a collaboration with Smriti Bhatt, assistant professor at Purdue Polytechnic’s School of Applied and Creative Computing, and with the University of Alabama at Birmingham\u2019s S. Abdollah Mirbozorgi, electrical and computer engineering, and neonatologists Namasivayam Ambalavanan and Colm P. Travers, UAB School of Medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue\u2019s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap \u2014 including its integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative \u2014 at https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Faezipour-breath-record.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/pacifier.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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