Sensing device for measuring infants’ grasping actions

Maestro, M. Del; Cecchi, Francesca; Serio, S.M.; Laschi, Cecilia; Dario, P.

doi:10.1016/j.sna.2010.08.016

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…All of the infants exhibited mostly bimanual reaching and grasping behavior, typical for infants of those ages [7]. One study determined that two-year old toddlers were able to grasp within a range of 0-20.68 kPa [15]. For haptic measurements, both infant 2 and 3 grasped the toy within this range.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying infant physical interactions using sensorized toys in a natural play environment

Goyal

Torres

Rai

et al. 2017

2017 International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR)

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Infants with developmental delays must be detected early in their development to minimize the progression of motor and neurological impairments. Our objective is to quantify how sensorized toys in a natural play environment can promote infant-toy physical interactions. We created a hanging elephant toy, equipped with an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a pressure transducer, and multiple feedback sensors, to be a hand-grasping toy. We used a 3 DoF robotic model with inputs from the IMU to calculate multiple kinematic metrics and an equation to calculate haptic metrics from the pressure transducer. Six typical infants were tested in the gym set-up. Three infants interacted with the toy for more than half the trial time. The youngest infant exhibited the largest toy displacement with ΔD = 27.6 cm, while the oldest infant squeezed the toy with the largest mean pressure of 4.5 kPa. More data on on both typical and atypical infants needs to be collected. After testing atypical infants in the SmarToyGym set-up, we will be able to identify interaction metrics that differentiate atypical and typical infants.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Maestro et al outlined the development of a toy that used a pressure sensor to quantify infant grasping forces [7], [15]. First, the law of affordance was taken into account.…”

Section: Design Of Smartoysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying infant physical interactions using sensorized toys in a natural play environment

Goyal

Torres

Rai

et al. 2017

2017 International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The majority of these studies have utilized technologies to assess grasping behavior in terms of strength and holding time, as well as to investigate the relationship between grasping pattern and intrinsic (e.g., infant gender, weight, premature births) and extrinsic factors (e.g., object shape and texture) [ 14 , 15 ]. The aforementioned measuring systems have used pressure transducers based on electrical components which are unusable inside the MRI scanner [ 6 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. MR-compatible technology requires unconventional solutions to ensure safety due to the strong static magnetic field and avoid electromagnetic interference (EMI), with further attention required for successfully imaging infant subjects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An fMRI Compatible Smart Device for Measuring Palmar Grasping Actions in Newborns

Presti

Dall’Orso

Muceli

et al. 2020

Sensors

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Grasping is one of the first dominant motor behaviors that enable interaction of a newborn infant with its surroundings. Although atypical grasping patterns are considered predictive of neuromotor disorders and injuries, their clinical assessment suffers from examiner subjectivity, and the neuropathophysiology is poorly understood. Therefore, the combination of technology with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) may help to precisely map the brain activity associated with grasping and thus provide important insights into how functional outcomes can be improved following cerebral injury. This work introduces an MR-compatible device (i.e., smart graspable device (SGD)) for detecting grasping actions in newborn infants. Electromagnetic interference immunity (EMI) is achieved using a fiber Bragg grating sensor. Its biocompatibility and absence of electrical signals propagating through the fiber make the safety profile of the SGD particularly favorable for use with fragile infants. Firstly, the SGD design, fabrication, and metrological characterization are described, followed by preliminary assessments on a preterm newborn infant and an adult during an fMRI experiment. The results demonstrate that the combination of the SGD and fMRI can safely and precisely identify the brain activity associated with grasping behavior, which may enable early diagnosis of motor impairment and help guide tailored rehabilitation programs.

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“…However, as infants are non-collaborative subjects, the assessment should be focused on measuring their natural movements, performed in an ecological setting with realistic tasks, such as toy play. 14,42 Kinematic description of upper limb infant motility in natural environment and during play was however despite large importance scarcely studied. 22 A natural setting in combination with adequate sensor systems could be suitable for studying infants' interaction with objects, which could lead to establishment of standard approach development characteristics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

CareToy: Stimulation and Assessment of Preterm Infant’s Activity Using a Novel Sensorized System

et al. 2016

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Early intervention programs aim at improving cognitive and motor outcomes of preterm infants. Intensive custom-tailored training activities are usually accompanied by assessment procedures, which have shortcomings, such as subjectivity, complex setups, and need for structured environments. A novel sensorized system, called CareToy, was designed to provide stimulation in the form of goal-directed activity training scenarios and motor pattern assessment of main developmental milestones, such as rolling activity, grasping, and postural stability. A group of 28 differently skilled preterm infants were enrolled. Acquired measurement data were analysed with dedicated sensor data processing algorithms, along with clinical evaluation of motor ability. High correlation among technically determined parameters and Alberta Infant Motor Scale values was determined by Pearson correlation coefficients. Due to good accuracy and possibility of single motor skill subfield analysis, results confirm system suitability for motor ability assessment. Statistical analysis of inter-motor ability group and inter-training goal data comparisons demonstrate system's appropriateness for goal-directed activity stimulation. The proposed system has evident potential of being an important contribution to the field of infant motor development assessment, expanding accessibility of early intervention programs and affecting rehabilitation effectiveness of preterm infants.

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Sensing device for measuring infants’ grasping actions

Cited by 17 publications

References 15 publications

Quantifying infant physical interactions using sensorized toys in a natural play environment

Quantifying infant physical interactions using sensorized toys in a natural play environment

An fMRI Compatible Smart Device for Measuring Palmar Grasping Actions in Newborns

CareToy: Stimulation and Assessment of Preterm Infant’s Activity Using a Novel Sensorized System

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