Automated Non-Nutritive Suck Pattern Assessment and Entrainment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual stimulation for non-nutritive suck pattern assessment and entrainment in premature infants is inconsistent and difficult to quantify, requiring extensive training and lacking precision, making it challenging to determine the effectiveness of the therapy.
Innovation Solution
A software system that includes an assessment module to analyze pressure signals from an orofacial stimulator appliance, generating a display signal to assess the suck pattern symmetry, repetition, and assigning a spatiotemporal index, and a therapy module to provide therapeutic pressure pulses to entrain an organized suck pattern, using a processor to stimulate the central pattern generator and trigeminal nerve.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual stimulation is used by therapists, then therapeutic intervention can be provided, but the stimulation is inconsistent and difficult to quantify, requiring extensive training
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical stimulation by therapists with an automated computer-controlled stimulation system. The system uses a transducer to deliver standardized tactile stimuli to the infant's cheek, eliminating the variability and subjectivity inherent in manual therapy while enabling precise measurement and quantification of suck patterns through software analysis.
2Reliability
If manual stimulation is applied, then therapy can be delivered, but it is given essentially blind with difficulty determining effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates real-time feedback through software that monitors and analyzes the infant's suck patterns in response to stimulation. The program quantifies organizational features such as symmetry, repetition, and coordination, providing objective measures of therapy effectiveness. This feedback loop allows clinicians to adjust stimulation parameters based on measured responses, ensuring reliable assessment of therapeutic progress.
3Measurement precision
If automated system is implemented, then precision and consistency improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a computer as an intermediary to bridge the gap between simple mechanical stimulation and complex clinical assessment. The computer-controlled system delivers precise tactile stimuli through a transducer while simultaneously recording and analyzing the infant's responses using specialized software. This intermediary layer enables high-precision measurement and standardized therapy delivery without requiring complex manual skills from clinicians.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides a precise and automated method for assessing and entraining non-nutritive suck patterns, improving the consistency and effectiveness of the therapy by quantifying suck pattern organization and generating tailored tactile stimuli, thereby aiding in brain development and motor skill improvement.
Implementation Method 1
an assessment module to record a pressure signal received from a pressure transducer in an orofacial stimulator appliance
Implementation Method 2
a therapy module to provide a therapeutic stimulus via the orofacial stimulator appliance
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a system and method for using the system. In particular, the present invention relates to an application, executable by a processing device to assess the organization of a non-nutritive suck (NNS) pattern of a patient and to entrain an organized NNS pattern in the patient. The software system receives data from an orofacial stimulation appliance to assess the patient's natural NNS pattern and generates a precise therapeutic pulse profile that is actuated as a tactile stimulus via the orofacial stimulation appliance to entrain an organized NNS pattern.