Stochastic Stimulation System to Improve Weight Gain in Infants
This invention is a system that uses stochastic stimulation to promote healthy weight gain in newborns and infants with growth faltering. Its primary advantage is that it offers a non-nutritional approach to improving weight trajectories by optimizing infant energy expenditure.
- Infant care products: Could be incorporated into smart crib mattresses or wearable infant garments for at-home use.
- Pediatric healthcare devices: Can serve as a medical device for treating growth faltering in infants.
- Non-nutritional intervention: The technology provides an alternative to traditional methods that primarily focus on improving nutrition and caloric intake.
- Automated and titratable: The system delivers stimulation automatically and can be adjusted to an infant's developmental stage.
- Addresses a critical need: It targets a common issue, "failure to thrive," in newborns who are premature, small for gestational age, or have prenatal complications.
- Flexible application: The stochastic stimulation can be applied via a mattress or garment, offering versatility in use.
Description
The invention is a delivery system that provides automated stochastic stimulation to newborns and infants. This system, which can be integrated into a crib mattress or garment, is designed to help regulate an infant's energy expenditure over a 24-hour period. The system also allows for the stimulation to be adjusted for different stages of an infant's development. The technology's approach is unique because, unlike current methods that focus on improving feeding intake, this system promotes weight gain by optimizing how an infant uses energy.Applications
- Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs): Can be used to manage weight faltering in high-risk newborns.- Infant care products: Could be incorporated into smart crib mattresses or wearable infant garments for at-home use.
- Pediatric healthcare devices: Can serve as a medical device for treating growth faltering in infants.
Advantages
- Promotes weight gain: The system reduces early weight loss and promotes weight gain in at-risk newborns and infants.- Non-nutritional intervention: The technology provides an alternative to traditional methods that primarily focus on improving nutrition and caloric intake.
- Automated and titratable: The system delivers stimulation automatically and can be adjusted to an infant's developmental stage.
- Addresses a critical need: It targets a common issue, "failure to thrive," in newborns who are premature, small for gestational age, or have prenatal complications.
- Flexible application: The stochastic stimulation can be applied via a mattress or garment, offering versatility in use.