Abstract
Preterm infants are prone to have higher risks of morbidity, disability and developmental delay compared to term infants. The primitive reflexes, inborn behaviors found in early life development, are shown to be a good tool to assess the integrity of the central nervous system of infants and to predict potential malfunctions. Among these reflexes, the non-nutritive sucking reflex plays an important role in indicating congenital abnormalities in brain development and feeding readiness, especially for premature infants. Conventionally, pediatricians evaluate the oral sucking power qualitatively based on their experiences, by using a gloved finger put inside the infant’s mouth. Thus, more quantitative solutions to assess the sucking power of preterm infants are necessary to support healthcare professionals in their evaluation procedures. Here, we developed a silver nanowire (AgNW)-based flexible pressure sensor to measure the non-nutritive sucking power of infants. The flexible sensor was fabricated using silver nanowires deposited on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in a sandwich-like structure. The sensor based on the principle of strain gauge was attached to a ring-shaped connecting module, and then to a pacifier. The negative sucking pressure exerted by the infant deformed the sensor membrane, causing its electrical resistance to change without any contact between the infant’s mouth and the sensing element. The fabricated sensor was characterized and optimized to achieve both the suitable sensitivity and stability. Thanks to the excellent long-term electro-mechanical stability and high sensitivity, the developed sensor is expected to provide the means to quantitatively assess the non-nutritive sucking of infants, with a portable, low-cost, non-invasive and light-weight solution.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines preterm birth as any birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation, or fewer than 259 days since the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period [1]
A group of inborn behaviors found in normal early development, are one of the most frequently used tools to assess the integrity of the central nervous system of infants [4]
This was possible thanks to the robust interface between the sensor and the external connection part, which allows the interface region to remain undeformed during the deformation of the sensor
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines preterm birth as any birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation, or fewer than 259 days since the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period [1]. A group of inborn behaviors found in normal early development, are one of the most frequently used tools to assess the integrity of the central nervous system of infants [4] Among these primitive reflexes, the sucking reflex, a reflexive oromotor behavior, is described as the most precocious and complex behavior of the newborn, and it is a potential predictor of neurodevelopmental outcomes during early infancy [5]. The first is defined as the sucking de Oliveira et al Micro and Nano Syst Lett (2020) 8:18 on a dry nipple or pacifier, induced by placing a nipple in the infant’s mouth without the presence of liquid [6], while the latter can be defined as the sucking when a nutrient such as milk is involved, accompanied by ingestion from a bottle or breast
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