Development of a Wearable Sensor Algorithm to Detect the Quantity and Kinematic Characteristics of Infant Arm Movement Bouts Produced across a Full Day in the Natural Environment.

Douglas Vanderbilt,Weiyang Deng,Ivan Trujillo-Priego,Beth Smith,Christianne Lane,Gerald Loeb,Joanne Shida

doi:10.3390/technologies5030039

Abstract

We developed a wearable sensor algorithm to determine the number of arm movement bouts an infant produces across a full day in the natural environment. Full-day infant arm movement was recorded from 33 infants (22 infants with typical development and 11 infants at risk of atypical development) across multiple days and months by placing wearable sensors on each wrist. Twenty second sections of synchronized video data were used to compare the algorithm against visual observation as the gold standard for counting the number of arm movement bouts. Overall, the algorithm counted 173 bouts and the observer identified 180, resulting in a sensitivity of 90%. For each bout produced across the day, we then calculated the following kinematic characteristics: duration, average and peak acceleration, average and peak angular velocity, and type of movement (one arm only, both arms for some portion of the bout, or both arms for the entire bout). As the first step toward developing norms, we present average values of full-day arm movement kinematic characteristics across the first months of infancy for infants with typical development. Identifying and quantifying infant arm movement characteristics produced across a full day has potential application in early identification of developmental delays and the provision of early intervention therapies to support optimal infant development.

Highlights

Infancy is a period of exploration and learning characterized by the development of motor skills.At least some of these skills arise from changes in synaptic connectivity that occur in response to recurring patterns of neural activity, as suggested by Hebb in the 1960s [1]
We propose that wearable sensors should allow for the measurement of the amount and type of infant movement practice across days and months, unobtrusively across many continuous hours in the natural environment
Full day infant arm movement monitoring is necessary in order to advance our understanding of how much and what type of movement practice is necessary to learn functional skills

Summary

Introduction

Infancy is a period of exploration and learning characterized by the development of motor skills. At least some of these skills arise from changes in synaptic connectivity that occur in response to recurring patterns of neural activity, as suggested by Hebb in the 1960s [1]. Extensive research demonstrates a striking relationship between the acquisition of new motor skills and subsequent cognitive development in infancy (for example [4,5,6]), implying that intervention to promote motor skills could be used to enhance the overall infant developmental rate. We do not currently know how much or what type of practice is necessary for an infant to learn a motor skill, for example reaching using their arms

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