Engineers and obstetricians at Monash University have invented a wearable Band-Aid-like patch to track a baby's movements through the mother's abdomen, offering a new way to support safer pregnancies from home.
The study, published in Science Advances, presents a thin 10-14 cm² patch that can detect fetal movements such as rolling, stretching and kicking. In a clinical trial of 59 pregnant women, it detects these movements with more than 90 per cent accuracy.
Self-monitoring of fetal movement is still limited. At home, most pregnant women rely on self-counting, which can cause uncertainty or stress.
Associate Professor Vinayak Smith, from Monash University's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, said the new soft wearable aims to fill this gap by providing continuous, non-invasive self-monitoring.
"Fetal movements tell us a lot about how a baby is doing, but right now we don't have an easy, comfortable way to monitor them continuously outside the hospital. Our soft wearable is designed to change that," Associate Professor Smith said.
"We've built a lightweight and flexible device that pregnant individuals can comfortably wear for long periods without disrupting daily life."
Co-corresponding author Dr Fae Marzbanrad, head of the Biomedical Signal Processing Research Lab at Monash Engineering, said the device's strength lies in the combination of soft materials and intelligent signal processing and AI.
"Different fetal movements create distinct patterns on the abdominal surface, and these are captured by the two sensors. The machine-learning system uses these signals to detect when movement occurs while cancelling maternal movements." Dr Marzbanrad said.
"By integrating sensor data with AI, the system automatically captures a wider range of fetal movements than existing wearable concepts while staying compact and comfortable."
The research team first evaluated the sensors using artificial 2D and 3D abdominal models, testing how well they could detect simulated kicks from different directions and depths.
The device was then trialled on 59 pregnant women. Two patches were placed on the abdomen, and ultrasound was used as the reference standard while the researchers trained and tested the machine-learning model that interprets movement signals.
Associate Professor Smith said the device could help parents feel more informed and support earlier detection of concerning changes in movement.
"Reduced fetal movement is one of the most common reasons patients present to hospital, yet we rely heavily on self-reporting. A comfortable, continuous monitor has real potential to give us clearer information and help expectant parents feel more confident between appointments. This is a promising tool for maternity care," Associate Professor Smith said.
The authors emphasised the technology was not intended to replace clinical assessments, but could complement standard care, help parents feel more informed, and support earlier intervention when movement patterns change.
Next steps include larger clinical trials, and pathways toward regulatory approval for use in home or community settings.
The project was initially funded by the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME) and subsequently supported by an NHMRC Ideas Grant. Key collaborators include Professor Ben Mol and Professor Euan Wallace, Associate Professor Zongyuan Ge (Faculty of IT), and Wenlong Cheng (former Monash Professor). Monash students and postdocs Arie Levin, Yiwen Jiang, Duong Nhu, Shu Gong, Ritesh Warty, and Talha Ilyas also contributed.
