Method and system for evaluating feeding performance of individual neonates

a feeding performance and individual neonate technology, applied in the field of methods and systems for evaluating infant feeding performance, can solve the problems of skill level, less attention, and risk of under-developed feeding performance levels

Inactive Publication Date: 2012-09-13
THE TRUSTEES OF THE UNIV OF PENNSYLVANIA
View PDF1 Cites 7 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

In the United States, nearly four million infants are born each year, with a large fraction (including more than 500,000 pre-term deliveries) at risk for under-developed feeding performance levels at the time of hospital discharge, and for medically significant feeding problems after discharge.
Yet, in common practice, infant feeding assessment is most often highly subjective, with substantial variability of practices across neonatal nurseries.
However, feeding performance of the same infants often receives much less attention as hospital discharge nears despite the fact that their feeding skill level at this time, on average, is significantly weaker than that of infants delivered at term.
Infant feeding problems often carry forward after discharge, contributing in part to high hospital readmission rates for premature infants (20-25% vs.
Current techniques for assessing feeding performance of full-term infants with uneventful deliveries are cursory, non-quantitative and subjective.
Such techniques do not provide a quantitative or objective assessment of the infant's feeding performance.
Unfortunately, however, such feeding assessment methods have not been standardized, and a mosaic of practices and procedures are currently employed.
NOMAS must be performed by trained, certified raters, and inter-rater reliability remains an issue.
Shortcomings of these and related assessments include (1) limited extent of current clinical use, (2) biases related to a significant measure of rater subjectivity, (3) lengthy test duration, (4) expense associated with professional assessors.
Each of the aforementioned publications discloses a means for measuring particular factors that are related to an infant's feeding performance, but most, however, link a measurement device with specific protocols focused on improving feeding performance (particularly in relation to initial acquisition of feeding skills), and none disclose a quantitative method suitable for broad-based diagnostic screening; that is, they do not disclose a method of evaluating the feeding performance of an infant that involves comparing feeding performance data of a single infant to an objective standard, such as a metric derived from a population-based sample of infants.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Method and system for evaluating feeding performance of individual neonates
  • Method and system for evaluating feeding performance of individual neonates
  • Method and system for evaluating feeding performance of individual neonates

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

[0068]This example involves a method for assessing a neonate's risk of subsequent abnormal mental and psychomotor development using a neonate's individual referenced feeding parameter scores.

[0069]The study sample consisted of 105 neonates. The mean GA at birth for the overall sample was 30.19 weeks (range=28 to 34), with mean birth-weight of 1456 grams, and mean length of hospital stay of 42 days. The mean maternal age was 28.3, with over 42% of mothers having completed some level of college education, 36% with high school diploma, and the remaining 26% with less than a high school education. The neonates were predominantly African-American (63%) and approximately half (49.6%) were female.

[0070]The feeding performance assessment was based on a 5-minute test initiated 30 minutes prior to the second scheduled feeding of the day. A modified Kron nutritive sucking apparatus used to derive three feeding parameters: the number of sucks emitted during the session, the average number of su...

example 2

[0079]This example illustrates a method for determining abnormal feeding organization in preterm neonates and shows that different aspects of the sucking pattern mature at different GAs and are of relevance to neurobehavioral development.

[0080]One hundred and eighty-six neonates with GA between 33 and full-term (38-42 weeks) were studied. All infants were free from congenital anomalies, with birth weights within the normal for GA at birth. At the time of testing, the neonates were free of medical complications, breathing room air, in open cribs and medically stable. Neonates were assigned to the following groups; GA 33 weeks (N=40), GA 34 weeks (N=39), GA 35 weeks (N=40), GA 36 (N=16), GA 37 (N=21), and full-term (GA range=38-42 weeks, mean=39.49±1.01; n=30). The full-term neonates were designated as 40 weeks for analysis purposes. There were an equal number of males and females in all of the GA groups. There were no significant differences in Apgar scores at 1 or 5 minutes, or mate...

example 3

[0096]This Example illustrates a method for diagnosing abnormal feeding organization in full-term neonates.

[0097]Fifty-six full-term neonates, received 5-minute feeding tests after 10 hours of age on and during the second day of life. Physical examinations were completed as per nursery routine. The feeding measurements were obtained using a Kron nutritive sucking apparatus one half-hour before the neonates were to be returned to the mother (approximately 9:30 a.m.). The neonate was lightly wrapped in one blanket and held by the researcher throughout the protocol. The 5-minute feeding session was preceded and followed by five minute periods during the first and fifth minutes of which state assessments were performed.

[0098]Customized software generated a set of feeding parameters including: number of sucks, number of bursts, average number of sucks per burst, average interburst pause duration, suck width (length suck cycle), and PMAX. In addition, infant behavioral state was evaluated...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

PUM

No PUM Login to view more

Abstract

A method and system for computing a relative score indicative of an individual infant's feeding performance based, at least in part, upon a comparison of one or more feeding factor measurements of the individual infant with a corresponding database metric that is derived from a population-based sample of infants, where the comparison optionally provides a statistical association between normative metric values and adverse outcomes recorded for the same population-based sample and, thereby, a means for assessing the tested infant's risk for said adverse outcomes.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to a method and system for evaluating infant feeding performance. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for evaluating infant feeding performance involving the processing of digitized data corresponding to an individual infant's responsiveness during one or more bottle-feeding tests.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]In the United States, nearly four million infants are born each year, with a large fraction (including more than 500,000 pre-term deliveries) at risk for under-developed feeding performance levels at the time of hospital discharge, and for medically significant feeding problems after discharge. Assessment and analysis of feeding performance as an infant approaches readiness for hospital discharge is widely recognized as very important for discharge timing, and as one prospective indicator of medical and developmental progress (or problems) in the weeks after discharge, as well as in later infancy...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to view more
Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): G06F19/00
CPCA23L1/296A23L33/40
Inventor KAPLAN, JOELZEMEL, JAY N.MEDOFF-COOPER, BARBARA
Owner THE TRUSTEES OF THE UNIV OF PENNSYLVANIA
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Try Eureka
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap