Remote monitoring in the home is now available to pregnant women through a new partnership between the Alere Women's & Children's Health Division (WCH) in the USA and UK-based Monica Healthcare Ltd.

Monica Healthcare's wearable wireless AN24 foetal-maternal monitoring solution introduces surveillance and flexible management during pregnancy. It is the first device to enable expecting mothers and doctors to monitor a baby's status outside hospital.

The AN24 can extract key parameters from foetal heart rate and uterine activity traces, triggering immediate contact from an Alere nurse care manager. It enables nurse care managers to send messages direct to the patient. Its ease of use makes wireless risk assessment and triage possible for patients with high-risk pregnancy conditions.

The system is pocket-sized and non-invasive, requiring electrodes to be attached to the mother's abdomen. It operates by battery and weighs under 100g.

"Monica's technology, coupled with Alere's home nursing network and call center infrastructure, makes the Monica AN24 monitor a perfect fit for building on our industry-leading homecare obstetric services," said Gregg Raybuck, President of Alere WCH. "This will empower us to expand into new areas of homecare management with the opportunity to provide home based patients with real-time connectivity and interaction with Alere nurses."

Carl Barratt, CEO of Monica Healthcare, commented: "Monica has delivered a quantum technology shift into a marketplace that has been static for 20 years. Our devices utilise the latest sensing and wireless technologies, offering a radical alternative to current obstetric practice."