Every year, thousands of babies die in their sleep for no
obvious reason. This is known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or
'cot death'. Now scientists have come up with a special pyjama
suit – known as Mamagoose - that can send out a warning if the
baby stops breathing. The pyjamas are based on a 'smart' suit
that was developed to monitor the motion of astronauts in the
early 1990's. The suit includes five sensors that continuously
monitor babies while they sleep. Three of them check the
infant's heartbeat and two more monitor breathing. The sensors
are built into the cloth and have no direct contact with the
body, so there is no discomfort for the baby. The sensors are
linked to a miniaturised computer. At the first sign that the
baby has stopped breathing, the computer sounds an alarm to
alert the parents. The pyjamas are made of two parts. The
lining, which comes into direct contact with the baby, can be
machine-washed. The other part, which contains the sensor
system, can be washed by hand. The pyjamas co