Browsing by Subject "Wearables"

Each year many new-borns are at risk for long-term developmental deficits due to adverse perinatal events. Early gross motor abilities have been shown to link with cognitive development and studying infant motor behaviour may provide means to assess global neurodevelopment. This thesis aims to explore a potential association between early gross motor abilities recorded at infancy with a multi-sensor wearable jumpsuit MAIJU and later neurocognitive development assessed at two years of age. The study sample (N=26) consisted of healthy full-term infants and those with prematurity or perinatal asphyxia. Spontaneous motor activity was recorded at home with the jumpsuit. Machine learning methods were used to quantitate the time infants spent in different postures and estimate the maturity of their motor abilities, which were compared to cognitive development at two years of age with correlational- and regression analyses. There was a positive trend between early motor abilities and later cognitive development. Specifically, standing posture explained the association, such that infants who spent more time standing had better cognitive abilities at two years of age. Standing may support cognitive development by increasing opportunities for visual and manual exploration and learning. Shared neuronal circuitries for motor and cognitive functions and faster neuronal maturation may also underlie the association. The current study supports the creation of future studies with larger sample sizes to establish the potential for the use of postural and movement information obtained from wearable jumpsuit MAIJU to assess the variability of neurocognitive development of at risk and typical infants with potential goal to identify future cognitive deficits at early stage.

Sleep is one of the most vital functions of newborns and infants, and it is essential for neuronal network development. Therefore, long-term sleep disturbances have been associated with growth delays and behavioral disorders. Commonly reported infant sleep disturbances, such as night awakenings and difficulties falling asleep, cause distress to parents. Yet, the development of infant sleep in the home environment has not been fully elucidated due to lack of objective measurement parameters. In the current study, we assessed the feasibility of a motion sensor, attached to wearable pants, and ECG textile electrodes to monitor sleep-related respiration and heart rate of newborns and infants. First, we compared signals recorded by the motion sensor’s measurement channels to the standard respiratory piezo effort belt’s signal during daytime EEG recordings. According to our results, the motion sensor’s gyroscope proved to measure respiratory rate most accurately, while the ECG signal transmitted by the sensor was reliable in interpretable sections. We then provided wearable garments and smartphones to families with infants to assess overnight home-use. Our results indicate that different sleep states could likely be identified based on respiration fluctuation visible in the gyroscope’s signals. Moreover, the wearable system was considered practical and easy to use by the parents. Future studies should focus on validating the sensor with clinically approved measures, in order to train the algorithms to automatically identify different sleep-wake states. By doing so, the wearable sensor could provide information on natural infant sleep structure development over long time periods. Additionally, clinical validation of the sensor may result in the development of a companion diagnostic tool for infant cardiorespiratory and movement disorders.