Paciforce: pacifier embedded infant suction force sensor

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an apparatus for measuring suction based on at least compressive force applied to the apparatus. The apparatus may include a pacifier comprising a base, wherein the base comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; a nipple disposed on the first surface of the base, wherein the nipple projects longitudinally away from the first surface, wherein the nipple includes an exterior surface and an interior surface, wherein the interior surface defines an interior cavity of the nipple; and a sensor embedded in the nipple, wherein in response the compressive force applied to the nipple and the sensor, at least one electrical property of the sensor changes. Related systems, methods, and articles of manufacture are also disclosed.

Description

Via Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2 Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564PACIFORCE: PACIFIER EMBEDDED INFANT SUCTION FORCE SENSORCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED AFFLICTION

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.63 / 754,394 filed on February 5, 2025, entitled “PACIFORCE: PACIFIER EMBEDDED INFANT SUCTION FORCE Sensor,” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] Infant latch during breastfeeding may be considered by some to be a critical aspect to enable adequate milk flow and / or maternal comfort. Conditions such as restrictive lingual frenulum (also known as ankyloglossia) can impair oral motor coordination of an infant and cause the infant to clamp down, which may lead to maternal pain. Some mothers lack access to lactation specialists for proper diagnosis and treatment. Past approaches for assessing infant suck strength, such as the “gloved finger test,” are qualitative and subjective, so these past approaches may lack the capability to provide objective, quantitative measurements.SUMMARY

[0003] In some example embodiments, there may be provided an apparatus providing an embedded infant suction force sensor.

[0004] In some embodiments, there is provided an apparatus for measuring suction based on at least compressive force applied to the apparatus. The apparatus may include a pacifier comprising a base, wherein the base comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; a nipple disposed on the first surface of the base, wherein the nipple projects longitudinally away from the first surface, wherein the nipple includes an exterior surface and an interior surface, wherein the interior surface defines an interior cavity of the nipple; and a sensor embedded in the nipple, wherein in response the compressive force applied to the nipple and the sensor, at least one electrical property of the sensor changes.

[0005] One or more of the features disclosed herein including one or more of the following features may also be provided in accordance with some embodiments. ForVia Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564example, the sensor may be embedded in the nipple below the exterior surface of the nipple. The sensor may be embedded between the exterior surface of the nipple and the interior surface of the nipple. The sensor may be embedded in the interior cavity of the nipple. The apparatus may further include electronic circuitry coupled to the sensor, wherein the electronic circuitry determines, based on at least an amplitude frequency response of the sensor and / or a phase frequency response of the sensor, the at least one electrical property that changes in response to the compressive force. The apparatus may further include interface circuitry to interface the sensor to the electronic circuitry, wherein the interface circuitry provides a wireless interface and / or wired interface to the electronic circuitry. The electronic circuitry may generate a chirp signal towards the sensor and measures a frequency response of the sensor and / or a phase response of the sensor to determine the compressive force applied on the nipple. The electronic circuitry may include a vector network analyzer. The sensor may include a coil. The coil may include a counter-coupled coil. The sensor may include a capacitor. The apparatus may further include interface circuitry to interface the sensor to electronic circuitry, wherein the interface circuitry transmits wirelessly based on differential sensing towards a receiver.

[0006] In some embodiments, there is provided a method that includes transmitting a chirp signal towards an apparatus, wherein the apparatus comprises a nipple and a sensor embedded in the nipple; receiving, in response to transmitting the chirp signal, a return signal reflected back from the sensor embedded in the nipple; determining, based on the return signal, a magnitude response and / or a phase response for the sensor, wherein the magnitude response and / or phase response maps to a compression of the sensor embedded in the nipple; and outputting, based on the determined compression, a measurement of suction applied to the sensor embedded in the nipple. One or more of the features disclosed herein including one or more of the following features may also be provided for the noted method in accordance with some embodiments. For example, the method’s apparatus may be configured with one or more features noted above and / or herein with respect to the apparatus.

[0007] The details of one or more variations of the subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.Via Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, show certain aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein and, together with the description, help explain some of the principles associated with the disclosed implementations. In the drawings,

[0009] FIG. 1 depicts an example of an apparatus comprising a pacifier configured with an embedded sensor to measure suction force, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0010] FIG. 2 depicts an example of an embedded sensor, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0011] FIG. 3 depicts an example of the apparatus of FIG. 1 in operation with an infant, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0012] FIG. 4 depicts examples of the compression states of the embedded sensor, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0013] FIG. 5 depicts plots of the phase and amplitude responses of the embedded sensor under various compression states, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0014] FIGs. 6A and 6B depict an example of a capacitor based embedded sensor, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0015] FIGs. 7A and 7B depict plots related to the capacitor based embedded sensor, in accordance with some embodiments;

[0016] FIG. 8 depicts an example implementation of the embedded sensor in a wireless configuration, in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0017] FIG. 9 depicts an example of a process for measuring suction, in accordance with some embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] In some embodiments, there is provided a pacifier configured with an embedded sensor to measure the forces (e.g., compressive forces and / or expressive forces) caused by an infant’s sucking on a pacifier. The forces determined (e.g., measured, calculated, derived, and / or the like) may be used to detect abnormalities in an infant’s suckingVia Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564and / or feeding mechanisms. Moreover, these forces may measure gentle forces (less than 1 or 2 Newtons of force as well as higher forces) in the oral cavity. And, these measurements may be based on compressive forces on the embedded sensor, rather than using a direct vacuum measurement of the sucking vacuum pressure.

[0019] In some embodiments, the pacifier configured with the embedded sensor comprises a coil that changes its radius (or, e.g., other physical aspects such as diameter) or cross section shape) as it is compressed during the infant’s use of the pacifier. In some embodiments, the sensor comprises a counter-coupled coil. In some embodiments, the sensor comprises a capacitor.

[0020] FIG. 1 depicts an example of the apparatus 100 comprising a pacifier having an embedded sensor, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0021] In the example of FIG. 1, the apparatus 100 comprises a base 107 providing a guard (e.g., to prevent the pacifier 100 from going too far down into an infant’s mouth). The base includes a first surface 108A and a second surface 108B, which is opposite the first surface 108A. In the example of FIG. 1, the base 107 is configured as a ring, although it may take other shapes as well. The second surface 108B of the base 107 may be coupled to a handle 109. Although the example of FIG. 1 depicts a base 107, in some implementation of the pacifier having the embedded sensor, the base 107 is not implemented.

[0022] In the example of FIG. 1, the apparatus 100 further comprises a nipple 105 coupled to the first surface 108 A and projecting longitudinally 120 away from the first surface 108A. The nipple 105 is configured with an exterior surface 112A and an opposite interior surface 112B, which defines a hollow interior cavity 112C. The pacifier’s nipple 105 may comprise a soft material, such as silicone, medical grade silicon, natural latex, natural rubber, and / or other types of materials. Although the nipple 105 of FIG. 1 is depicted as bulbous, the nipple may take other shapes including for example a cylindrical, round, or other shapes or forms as well.

[0023] In some embodiments, there is provided an embedded sensor 102A-B. The embedded sensor may, as noted, comprise a coil, such as one or more windings that are helically wound around to form a coil (configured with controllable or configurable parameters, such as pitch, radius, gap, and / or the like to control or define the operation frequency of the sensor). In some embodiments, the coil comprises a countcr-couplcd coil.Via Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564The counter-coupled coil configuration may ensure that the sensor assumes a resonant mode at a given frequency (which may reduce or prevent RF emanations from radiating from the coil into, for example an infant’s mouth).

[0024] In the example of FIG. 1, the sensor 102A-B is embedded into the pacifier 100 and, in particular, the nipple 105. As used herein, the term “embedded” refers to the coil being configured within the nipple 105, such that the wires of the coil are not on the exterior surface 112A of the nipple. As such, the wires of the coil do not come into contact with an infant’s mouth. This may provide an advantage of avoiding infant contact with metals.Moreover, the infant may reject the pacifier if a metallic taste is detected by the infant.

[0025] In some embodiments, the sensor 102A-B is embedded into the interior cavity 112C of the nipple 105. FIG. 2 depicts an example of the embedded sensor 102A-B, which in this example comprises counter-coupled coils embedded into a soft material 200. The sensor coil’s wire 102B (which in this example is in a counter-coupled coil configuration) winds around the soft material in a first direction (e.g., a counter-clockwise direction) from a first proximal end 202A (e.g., a base) to a second, distal end 202B (e.g., tip or top) and then the sensor coil’s wire 102A winds in the opposite direction (e.g., clockwise direction) from the second end 202B to the first end 202A. The coil wires are coupled via leads 114A-114B to an interface 110 and to electronic circuitry 150.

[0026] In the example of FIG. 2, the soft material 200 is composed of a soft, flexible silicon, latex, and / or other material. In some embodiments, a composition of Dragon Skin elastomer, Ecoflex elastomer, and / or Oomoo elastomer may be used to form the soft material. The soft material 200 may be inserted into (or, e.g., formed in) the interior cavity 112B of the pacifier 100 and / or the nipple 105. Alternatively, or additionally, the soft material may be configured to compress under forces less than 1, 2, 3, or other values in units of Newtons (N). The sensor 102A-B coil may be formed using metal wires wrapped or sewn around the soft material 200. The metal may be composed of copper, gold, conductive silks, and / or other materials.

[0027] The soft material 200 depicted at FIG. 2 enables the sensor 102A-B to be inserted into (or, e.g., formed within or embedded within) a variety of commercially available pacifier nipples. By preserving the pacifier’s original structure, this may enable the sensor’s use with a variety of pacifiers, without significant modifications, maintaining safety,Via Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564maintaining comfort, maintaining familiarity with the pacifier, and / or decreasing the likelihood of infant rejection of the pacifier.

[0028] Although the previous example describes the sensor 102A-B formed in the soft material 200 and inserted in the interior cavity 112C of the nipple 105, the sensor 102A-B may be embedded or formed into the pacifier 100 and / or nipple 105 in other ways (e.g., between the exterior surface 112A and the interior surface 112B).

[0029] FIG. 3 depicts an example of the pacifier 100 in operation with an infant 300, in accordance with some embodiments. In operation, the compressive forces that are caused by the infant (e.g., due to suction, tongue 310, and / or roof of mouth 312, etc.) on the nipple 105 change the radius of the nipple 105 and the embedded sensor 102A-B, which in-tum causes a change in the electrical characteristics of the sensor 102A-B. For example, the compressive forces may decrease the radius of the nipple (and embedded sensor therein), which in turn changes the inductance or impedance of the sensor’s 102A-B coil. This change in impedance may be measured by the electronic circuitry 150 and indicate a corresponding compressive force being applied on the pacifier.

[0030] Although the previous example describes the change being measured by the electronics in terms of an impedance or inductance, the change in the pacifier’s radius (or diameter) caused by the infants compressive forces may cause other electrical changes at the sensor 102A-B, such as change in capacitance, resistance, and / or the like, which may be measured as a frequency response (e.g., phase and / or amplitude changes) by the electronic circuitry 150 to provide an indication of the compressive forces (e.g., in Newtons).

[0031] Referring again to FIG. 1, the wire leads 114A-114B couple the sensor 102A-B to the interface 110. This interface 110 may comprise a printed circuit board (e.g., a flexible printed circuit board) that couples the sensor 102A-B to the electronics circuits 150. For example, the interface 110 may provide wired connections 116A-B between the sensor 102A-B and the electronic circuitry 150. Alternatively, or additionally, the interface 110 may provide a wireless interface (e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy, RFID, Bluetooth, WiFi, or other type of wireless interface) between the sensor 102A-B and the electronic circuitry 150.

[0032] With respect to the electronic circuitry 150, the electronic circuitry may comprise a vector network analyzer (VNA). The VNA is configured to measure across a range of frequencies a magnitude response of the sensor 102A-B and / or a phase response ofVia Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564the sensor 102A-B. For example, the VNA may indicate gain, loss, impedance, and frequency response. The electronic circuitry 150 may also comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including instructions to provide operations, such as determining a compressive force (e.g., in Newtons) based on the measured amplitude and phase responses determined by the VNA.

[0033] In operations, the sensor’s 102A-B wire coil fomrs an inductor (or, alternatively, or additionally, a capacitor) which, combine with the capacitance between coils exhibits a resonance point at certain radio frequencies (e.g., 100MHz-3GHz although other frequencies may be implemented as well), when excited by a source signal (e.g., a chirp or sweep RF signal generated by the VNA or other signal source). At the resonance frequencies of the sensor, the sensor is sensitive to the force applied, and thus the sensor exhibits enhanced response to the applied force. The sensor couples most efficiently with the parameter(s) introducing the change in reactance at the resonant frequencies (so the sensor acts as an efficient transducer). Consequently, the phase and amplitude changes measurably as the pacifier’s sensor compresses due to the infant’s sucking action (e.g., the expressive and / or compressive forces caused by the infants mouth, tongue, etc.). As noted, the infant’s force on the pacifier compresses the pacifier and the sensor, which varies among other things radius or diameter of the nipple 105 (including the embedded coil 102A-B) and the corresponding the distance between the sensor’s wires. This distance change also causes a change in the reactance (as well as e.g., the impedance, resistance, capacitance, and / or inductance) of the sensor, such that the VNA of the electronic circuitry can detect (e.g., measure via an Sil return signal) the change in amplitude and phase over the frequency range.

[0034] Although the previous example refers to the electronic circuitry comprising a VNA, the electronic circuitry 150 may comprise radio circuitry configured to transmit a swept or chirp signal (e.g., a linear frequency swept waveforms) towards the sensor and measure the change in the phase and / or amplitude of the backscattered (or return) signal in comparison to the transmitted signal.

[0035] FIG. 4 depicts an example of the sensor 102A-B in three states, such as a relaxed compressive state 402A, an intermediate compressive state 402B, and a maximally compressive state 402C, in accordance with some embodiments. The electronic circuitry 150Via Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564may provide (via 114A-B) a chirped or swept RF signal over a predetermined frequency range (e.g., 100MHz to 3GHz although other RF ranges may be implemented as well). In response to the chirped RF signal transmitted towards the sensor 102A-B, the reflections produced by the sensor are captured in the form of a reflection coefficient, Sil, whose amplitude and phase are measured as a function of the sensor deformation from the relaxed, intermediate, and maximally compressed state. FIG. 5 depicts a plot 510 of the phase response (vertical axis) of the sensor 102 versus the compression states (horizontal axis) and depicts a plot 520 of the amplitude response (vertical axis) of the sensor compression states (horizontal axis) depicted at FIG. 4. The horizontal axis is in units of axial ratio that denotes the extent of compression of the core. It is the ratio of the major to minor axis of the elliptical cross section which varies from AR=1 for a relaxed sensor under no acting force to AR=4 for a fully compressed sensor under max force value. The plots 510 and 520 depict that the amplitude and phase parameters are indeed sensitive to changes in applied force, providing a good correlation between infant compressive forces and the response of the sensor's output.

[0036] Although some of the examples refer to the sensor as a coil embedded and wound around nipple 105 of the pacifier 100, the sensor may be configured as a capacitor. FIGs. 6 A and 6B depict an example of a sensor 600 configured using a capacitor 602 A-B, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0037] Referring to FIGs. 6A-B, the sensor 600 comprises two metalized surfaces 602A and 602B. For example, the first metalized surface 602A may be applied to the exterior surface of the soft material 200, while the second metalized surface 602B may be applied to an interior surface of the soft material 200. The inner and outer metalized surfaces on the soft material are embedded in the nipple 105 hollow interior cavity 112C. The inner and outer metalized surfaces 602A-B act as parallel plates of a capacitor whose value is chosen close to an operation frequency. As force is applied, the capacitive sensor deforms and changes the distance between the parallel plates — altering thus the capacitance. This capacitance change may be used to modulate phase and amplitude of a carrier signal (or, e.g., a swept or chirp RF signal) generated by the electronic circuitry 150 (or, e.g., a VNA therein) to characterize the change in capacitance over a frequency range. FIG. 7 depicts a plot 710 of the capacitive change versus force in Newtons (N) and a plot 720 of phase change (of the applied RF earnerVia Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564signal) versus force. FIG. 7B plots the return signal, Sil, measured by the electronic circuitry 150 (or, e.g., a VNA therein) versus force applied by the infant at the pacifier.

[0038] Sensor Fabrication Example

[0039] As depicted at FIG. 2, the sensor 102A-B may comprise metal wire forming a coil. The coil may be formed in a helical, counter-clockwise fashion around a soft material 200 core and then looped back and wound parallel to the first winding in the opposite or clockwise direction. The following provides an example of how to fabricate the sensor 102A-B (although the sensor 102A-B may be configured and / or fabricated in a variety of ways).• Step 1 : A soft material, such as an elastomer, is formed to provide the soft material 200 core of the inductive sensor 102A-B. This material may be configured to be elastic enough to recover each time the sensor is subjected to compression and relaxation, when inside the infant’s oral cavity. At the same time, the soft material may be configured to be strong enough to support a copper wire that is embedded therein (which in this example is threaded through the core). To that end, the soft material 200 may be composed of a silicone, latex, or silicone-like soft elastomers. For example, the elastomer may be composed of mixing Dragon-Skin, Eco-flex, Oomoo, or any similar soft material with comparable physical qualities. The material may be degassed to remove any potential gas bubbles that may have entered the material.• Step 2: When the material has been degassed, it is poured into the mold of a pacifier nipple to mold the material into a conformant shape and cured in an oven (e.g., for 4 hours).• Step 3: After curing, the cured material is removed from the mold. The soft material 200 forms a core that may then be used as the base into which the coil may be applied.• Step 3: A “guide” may be applied to the soft material 200 core. The guide provides a structure for applying (e.g., sewing) the wire that forms the winding of the coil.• Step 4: An uninsulated, bare copper wire is threaded into a needle and sewn into the core, weaving in and out following for example a counter-clockwise pattern inVia Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564the guide from the base to the top (see, e.g., FIG. 2 and corresponding description), and then looping back at the top and returning to the bottom of the core in a clockwise manner.• Step 5: To ensure that the coil sensor is attached to the interior of the pacifier's nipple, another batch of the elastomer may be produced and about 0.5ml of elastomer is poured into the interior of the nipple. When the sewn sensor is slipped into the interior of the pacifier nipple, the coil is embedded in the pacifier as the elastomer cures.

[0040] Example Wireless Implementation

[0041] As noted above, the interface 110 to the electronic circuitry 150 may be wireless. The following provides an example implementation where the embedded sensor can be interfaced directly at a carrier frequency. Given a sensor 102A-B, its impedance is a complex value that can be modeled using resistive and reactance parts as shown in Eq. (1). For the sensor 102A-B, the reactive part of the sensor impedance varies as a function of the applied force, as the sensor deforms (see, e.g., Eq. (2)). The capacitance or inductance of the sensor is therefore a function of the applied force. This relationship means that as force is applied to the sensor, its reactive properties change, which in turn affects its overall impedance. The specific nature of this change — whether it’s an increase in capacitance, a decrease in inductance, or vice versa — depends on the sensor’s design and the materials used in its construction. Equations 1 and 2 are as follows:Zsensor = Rsensor +j * XsCHSOr (1)rl (C a>) (if sensor is capacitive)Xsensor = { , ... . . , . .L a> if sensor is inductive) (2),wherein Zsensor denote the impedance of the sensor, Rsensor denotes the resistance of the sensor Xsensor denotes the reactance of the sensor, C denotes inherent sensor capacitance, L denotes inherent sensor inductance, and a) denotes the operation frequency.

[0042] This relationship may be used to modulate the impedance of a backscattered signal (returned or received at the electronic circuitry 150). The backscattered signal in an RFVia Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564circuit is given by Eq. (3) is the incoming signal multiplied by a complex reflection coefficient F The complex reflection coefficient is a function of the load impedance (which in our case is the sensor impedance) and the system impedance is for example an RFID IC impedance (see, e.g, FIG. 8 at 807). The complex value T is modulated by changes in the sensor impedance, therefore capturing the effect of sensor deformations.Refl. Wave (ZsenSor—Zo)wherein T denotes a complex reflection coefficient, Refl.Wave denotes the backscatter signal, Input Wave denote the signal transmitted towards the sensor by for example the VNA, Zsensor denotes the impedance of the sensor, Zo denotes known system impedance , Sbs denotes backscattered / reflected signal from the sensor, Sine denotes the signal incident / applied to the signal from electronic circuitry 150. These relationships may be used to interface the embedded sensor 102A-B to a wireless system, such as an RFID system or other wireless systems, to modulate some part of the RF carrier signal or the channel state information (CSI) data. To do so, the wires coming out of the sensor are soldered to a signal trace pad and the ground traces.

[0043] FIG. 8 depicts an example of the embedded pacifier sensor 102A-B using differential sensing over a wireless, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0044] In some implementations, the system 800 includes an RF reader 820 and a wireless interface (which may be configured at interface 110) comprising a first RFID tag 805, the sensor 102A-B, and a second RFID tag 807. This first RFID tag 805 is isolated from the second RFID tag 807 and the sensor 102A-B. The outputs 809 A-B of each of the first RFID tag and the second RFID tag are coupled to inputs 811A-B of a combiner 810. The combiner may comprise a Wilkinson combiner (also referred to as a Wilkinson power combiner). The output 813 of the combiner 810 is then coupled to an antenna 814. In the example of FIG.8, the second RFID tag 807 is connected to the sensor 102A-B such that impedance changes in sensor can maximally impact the impedance of the transceiver. As the first RFID tag is isolated from the second RFID tag and the sensor, when the RFID readerVia Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564810 queries or probes sensor, the response via antenna 814 includes information from a maximally coupled second RFID tag (which carries the sensor’s 102A-B force induced changes) and information from the isolated, first RFID tag. At the RFID reader, multipath and other interference will be present on both information channels (i.e., from RFID tags 805 and 807) but the sensor stimulus information is only present on the information channel from the second RFID tag. As such, the RFID reader 210 may then use differential sensing to eliminate the multipath and interference and thus enhance the received sensor’s stimulus state information.

[0045] Although the previous example describes the use of RFID as the wireless technology coupling the interface 110 to the electronics circuity 150, other wireless technologies, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, and / or the like may be used as well.

[0046] FIG. 9 depicts an example of a process 900 for measuring suction, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0047] At 905, the process may include transmitting a chirp signal towards an apparatus, wherein the apparatus comprises a nipple and a sensor embedded in the nipple, in accordance with some embodiments. For example, the electronic circuitry 150 may transmit a chirp signal towards the sensor 102A-B embedded in the nipple 105.

[0048] At 910, the process may include receiving, in response to transmitting the chirp signal, a return signal reflected back from the sensor embedded in the nipple, in accordance with some embodiments. For example, the electronic circuitry 150 may receive, in response to the chirp, a return signal that is reflected back from the sensor 102A-B embedded in the nipple 105.

[0049] At 915, the process may include determining, based on the return signal, a magnitude response and / or an phase response for the sensor, wherein the magnitude response and / or phase response maps to a compression of the sensor embedded in the nipple, in accordance with some embodiments. For example, the electronic circuitry 150 may determine the magnitude (e.g., amplitude) and phase response as shown at FIG. 5 and map that to a core axial ratio, which indicates an amount of compression of the sensor (which in turn indicates the amount of suction by the infant).Via Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564

[0050] At 915, the process may include outputting, based on the determined compression, a measurement of suction applied to the sensor embedded in the nipple, in accordance with some embodiments. For example, the electronic circuitry 150 may include a user interface which can be used to output the determined compression (or suction) by the infant.

[0051] In view of the above-described implementations of subject matter this application discloses the following list of examples, wherein one feature of an example in isolation or more than one feature of an example, taken in combination and, optionally, in combination with one or more features of one or more further examples are further examples also falling within the disclosure of this application.

[0052] Example 1. An apparatus for measuring suction based on at least compressive force applied to the apparatus, the apparatus comprising:a pacifier comprising a base, wherein the base comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface;a nipple disposed on the first surface of the base, wherein the nipple projects longitudinally away from the first surface, wherein the nipple includes an exterior surface and an interior surface, wherein the interior surface defines an interior cavity of the nipple; and a sensor embedded in the nipple, wherein in response the compressive force applied to the nipple and the sensor, at least one electrical property of the sensor changes.

[0053] Example 2. The apparatus of Example 1, wherein the sensor is embedded in the nipple below the exterior surface of the nipple.

[0054] Example 3. The apparatus of any of Examples 1-2, wherein the sensor is embedded between the exterior surface of the nipple and the interior surface of the nipple.

[0055] Example 4. The apparatus of any of Examples 1-3, wherein the sensor is embedded in the interior cavity of the nipple.

[0056] Example 5. The apparatus of any of Examples 1-4 further comprising electronic circuitry coupled to the sensor, wherein the electronic circuitry determines, based on at least an amplitude frequency response of the sensor and / or a phase frequency response of the sensor, the at least one electrical property that changes in response to the compressive force.Via Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564

[0057] Example 6. The apparatus of any of Examples 1-5 further comprising interface circuitry to interface the sensor to the electronic circuitry, wherein the interface circuitry provides a wireless interface and / or wired interface to the electronic circuitry.

[0058] Example 7. The apparatus of any of Examples 1-6, wherein the electronic circuitry generates a chirp signal towards the sensor and measures a frequency response of the sensor and / or a phase response of the sensor to determine the compressive force applied on the nipple.

[0059] Example 8. The apparatus of any of Examples 1-7, wherein the electronic circuitry comprises a vector network analyzer.

[0060] Example 9. The apparatus of any of Examples 1-8, wherein the sensor comprises a coil.

[0061] Example 10. The apparatus of any of Examples 1-9, wherein the coil comprises a counter-coupled coil.

[0062] Example 11. The apparatus of any of Examples 1-10, wherein the sensor comprises a capacitor.

[0063] Example 12. The apparatus of any of Examples 1-11 further comprising interface circuitry to interface the sensor to electronic circuitry, wherein the interface circuitry transmits wirelessly based on differential sensing towards a receiver.

[0064] Example 13. A method comprising:transmitting a chirp signal towards an apparatus, wherein the apparatus comprises a nipple and a sensor embedded in the nipple;receiving, in response to transmitting the chirp signal, a return signal reflected back from the sensor embedded in the nipple:determining, based on the return signal, a magnitude response and / or a phase response for the sensor, wherein the magnitude response and / or phase response maps to a compression of the sensor embedded in the nipple; andoutputting, based on the determined compression, a measurement of suction applied to the sensor embedded in the nipple.

[0065] Example 14. The method of Example 13, wherein the apparatus further comprises one or more features of the apparatus of Examples 1-12.Via Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564

[0066] One or more aspects or features of the subject matter described herein can be realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry, specially designed application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) computer hardware, firmware, software, and / or combinations thereof. These various aspects or features can include implementation in one or more computer programs that are executable and / or interpretable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor, which can be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data and instmctions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

[0067] These computer programs, which can also be referred to as programs, software, software applications, applications, components, or code, include machine instmctions for a programmable processor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and / or object-oriented programming language, and / or in assembly / machine language. As used herein, the term “machine-readable medium’’ refers to any computer program product, apparatus and / or device, such as for example magnetic discs, optical disks, memory, and Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), used to provide machine instmctions and / or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instmctions as a machine-readable signal. The term “machine-readable signal’’ refers to any signal used to provide machine instmctions and / or data to a programmable processor. The machine-readable medium can store such machine instmctions non-transitorily, such as a non-transient solid-state memory or a magnetic hard drive or any equivalent storage medium. The machine-readable medium can alternatively or additionally store such machine instmctions in a transient manner, such as a processor cache or other random access memory associated with one or more physical processor cores.

[0068] To provide for interaction with a user, one or more aspects or features of the subject matter described herein can be implemented on a computer having a display device, such as for example a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED) monitor for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, such as for example a mouse or a trackball, by which the user may provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide interaction with a user as well. For example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, suchVia Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564as for example visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user may be received in any form, including, but not limited to, acoustic, speech, or tactile input. Other possible input devices include, but are not limited to, touch screens or other touch-sensitive devices such as single or multi-point resistive or capacitive trackpads, voice recognition hardware and software, optical scanners, optical pointers, digital image capture devices and associated interpretation software, and the like.

[0069] The subject matter described herein can be embodied in systems, apparatus, methods, and / or articles depending on the desired configuration. The implementations set forth in the foregoing description do not represent all implementations consistent with the subject matter described herein. Instead, they are merely some examples consistent with aspects related to the described subject matter. Although a few variations have been described in detail above, other modifications or additions are possible. In particular, further features and / or variations can be provided in addition to those set forth herein. For example, the implementations described above can be directed to various combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed features and / or combinations and sub-combinations of several further features disclosed above. In addition, the logic flows depicted in the accompanying figures and / or described herein do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. Other implementations may be within the scope of the following claims.

[0070] The illustrated methods are exemplary only. Although the methods are illustrated as having a specific operational flow, two or more operations may be combined into a single operation, a single operation may be performed in two or more separate operations, one or more of the illustrated operations may not be present in various implementations, and / or additional operations which are not illustrated may be part of the methods.

Claims

Via Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 39564CLAIMSWhat is claimed:

1. An apparatus for measuring suction based on at least compressive force applied to the apparatus, the apparatus comprising:a pacifier comprising a base, wherein the base comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface;a nipple disposed on the first surface of the base, wherein the nipple projects longitudinally away from the first surface, wherein the nipple includes an exterior surface and an interior surface, wherein the interior surface defines an interior cavity of the nipple; and a sensor embedded in the nipple, wherein in response the compressive force applied to the nipple and the sensor, at least one electrical property of the sensor changes.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is embedded in the nipple below the exterior surface of the nipple.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor is embedded between the exterior surface of the nipple and the interior surface of the nipple.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor is embedded in the interior cavity of the nipple.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising electronic circuitry coupled to the sensor, wherein the electronic circuitry determines, based on at least an amplitude frequency response of the sensor and / or a phase frequency response of the sensor, the at least one electrical property that changes in response to the compressive force.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising interface circuitry to interface the sensor to the electronic circuitry, wherein the interface circuitry provides a wireless interface and / or wired interface to the electronic circuitry.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the electronic circuitry generates a chirp signal towards the sensor and measures a frequency response of the sensor and / or a phase response of the sensor to determine the compressive force applied on the nipple.Via Patent Center Docket No. 024636-786WO1 / SD2025-135-2PCT Filing Date: February 5, 2026 Customer No. 395648. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the electronic circuitry comprises a vector network analyzer.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a coil.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the coil comprises a counter-coupled coil.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises a capacitor.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising interface circuitry to interface the sensor to electronic circuitry, wherein the interface circuitry transmits wirelessly based on differential sensing towards a receiver.

13. A method comprising:transmitting a chirp signal towards an apparatus, wherein the apparatus comprises a nipple and a sensor embedded in the nipple;receiving, in response to transmitting the chirp signal, a return signal reflected back from the sensor embedded in the nipple;determining, based on the return signal, a magnitude response and / or a phase response for the sensor, wherein the magnitude response and / or phase response maps to a compression of the sensor embedded in the nipple; andoutputting, based on the determined compression, a measurement of suction applied to the sensor embedded in the nipple.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the apparatus further comprises one or more features of the apparatus of claims 1-12.

Images