equipped with many motion sensors, supporting the assessment and prediction of children’s neurological development.
In their recent study, scientists measured infants aged 5 to 19 months using MAIJU jumpsuits during spontaneous playtime, mostly in the child’s own home environment.
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At the start of the study, the infant’s positions and movements were visually determined from a recorded video using a custom motion diagram developed for this study. This information is then used to train a machine learning-based algorithm to recognize the same poses and movements per second of each child’s playtime with an accuracy equal to direct assessment. by a trained professional.
Leader of Technical Development, Dr. Manu Airaksinen.
New methods to study neural development
The MAIJU jumpsuit and related analytical solutions enable both assessment and monitoring of a child’s motor maturation with unprecedented precision. This advancement can be exploited in many ways, such as in early clinical diagnosis and other developmental assessments, and it also helps measure the effectiveness of other types of medical treatments and treatments. together.
“Our study shows that it is very possible to assess the motor development of infants outside of a hospital or special laboratory setting. A particular advantage of the MAIJU method is that it allows us to conduct developmental assessments in the natural environment by Sampsa Vanhatalo, professor of physiology and leader of the BABA Center, explaining to the child, such as a nursery or nursery.
“Methods of this kind are urgently needed to support the research and innovation of new therapies for early neurodevelopment,” said Leena Haataja, professor of pediatric neurology.
The earlier neurodevelopmental delays and related challenges are identified, the better we can support the child’s upcoming development and lifelong neurocognitive functioning.
Children move to learn
It is now generally accepted that the motor development of young children is not independent of all other neurocognitive development. Children’s innate strong need to move stems from an obvious need: they have to move a lot to gain experience and learn from their surroundings.
“It is therefore important to encourage children to move around as naturally and as much as possible in everyday life situations,” says Haataja.
A child with other motor or neurological challenges will need special support or therapies, which are most effective if they are part of the child’s environment and daily life. The MAIJU smart jumpsuit makes it possible to find better therapeutic strategies in such situations and evaluate their effectiveness.
New apps for wearables
Developing a smart wearable for medical use is a challenge many times more difficult than bringing a consumer product to market. Vanhatalo believes that their success in the field of wearable development has far-reaching global impact and a bright future.
“Our methods can be automated and scaled up for very broad use. It’s also possible that our technology can be adapted to develop wearable solutions to help. other patient groups, such as older children or even the elderly.”
Source: Eurekalert
