SBIR Phase I: A WEARABLE PATCH TO MEASURE KEY BREASTFEEDING METRICS

SBIR 第一阶段：用于测量关键母乳喂养指标的可穿戴贴片

• 批准号: 1939356
• 负责人: Hooman Hafezi
• 金额: $ 22.5万
• 依托单位: MAY & MEADOW, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-02-01 至 2022-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1939356&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; WEARABLE; PATCH; MEASURE

The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I Project is to measure the most critical metrics associated with breastfeeding in real time, namely milk volume and suck patterns. Exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life is highly recommended. While U.S. breastfeeding initiation rates exceed 80%, only 25% of women are able to reach the six-month goal. The leading cause of premature breastfeeding cessation is maternal anxiety about milk supply exacerbated by the absence of an accurate, inexpensive, and convenient means to assess infant milk intake. The current standard-of-care, weighing an infant before and after feeding, requires an expensive clinical scale to detect a 1-2% weight change, trained staff, tight swaddling of the infant, careful operation, and regular calibration. Even then, it’s still a tedious exercise and thus does not provide a quality representative measure of daily milk intake. There is therefore a need for a “thermometer for breastfeeding” – an accurate, easy-to-use device to be used for multiple feedings in both clinical and home settings. The technology developed in this project can be used for rapid identification and intervention for infants at high risk of feeding problems.This project aims to develop and validate the accuracy of a low-cost wearable patch measuring milk volume and suck patterns in real time. The patch operates by detecting changes in the shape and electrical properties of the breast and can be used for 1-12 feedings per day. Data are reported to a mobile app for tracking and analysis, as well as integration with other key metrics of infant feeding and growth. Several patch configurations will be built and tested to optimize the design and analysis algorithm. The design with highest accuracy will be further validated in a larger study involving breastfeeding mother-infant dyads.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该SBIR第I阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响是测量与真实的母乳喂养相关的最关键指标，即乳汁量和吸吮模式。强烈建议在生命的前六个月进行纯母乳喂养。虽然美国的母乳喂养率超过80%，但只有25%的女性能够达到6个月的目标。过早停止母乳喂养的主要原因是母亲对牛奶供应的焦虑，由于缺乏准确，廉价和方便的方法来评估婴儿牛奶摄入量而加剧。目前的护理标准，在喂养前后称量婴儿的体重，需要昂贵的临床秤来检测1-2%的体重变化，训练有素的工作人员，婴儿的紧密襁褓，小心操作和定期校准。即使这样，它仍然是一个乏味的练习，因此不能提供每日牛奶摄入量的质量代表性措施。因此，需要一种“母乳喂养温度计”-一种准确、易于使用的装置，用于临床和家庭环境中的多次喂养。该项目开发的技术可用于快速识别和干预高危喂养问题的婴儿。该项目旨在开发和验证低成本可穿戴贴片的准确性，该贴片可真实的实时测量乳汁量和吮吸模式。贴片通过检测乳房形状和电特性的变化来工作，每天可用于1-12次喂养。数据被报告给一个移动的应用程序进行跟踪和分析，并与婴儿喂养和生长的其他关键指标相结合。将构建和测试几种贴片配置，以优化设计和分析算法。具有最高准确度的设计将在一项涉及母乳喂养的母婴配对的更大规模研究中得到进一步验证。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。