Japan prides itself on having the world¡¯s lowest birth mortality rates for women and infants, but a decline in facilities staffed with obstetricians and gynecologists, as well as the advancing age of first-time mothers here, has raised growing doubts about the future of that claim.

These concerns sparked entrepreneur Yhuko Ogata of Kagawa Prefecture, who commercialized Japan¡¯s first electronic medical record software for obstetricians and gynecologists, to seek ways to address this growing uncertainty through remote pregnancy monitoring.

Last year, Ogata commercialized Fetal Monitor iCTG, a platform that allows doctors to remotely check the condition of both mother and fetus via wireless devices that can be easily attached to the abdomen.