2011 Volume 49 Issue 3 Pages 501-507
The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanical action of the infant tongue during sucking. Therefore we developed an artificial nipple that contained multiple small built-in force sensors which was capable of measuring tongue-artificial nipple contact pressure in real-time. A force sensor was a cantilever structure composed of a thin stainless steel beam and all-purpose foil strain gauges attached to the surface of the beam. The signals obtained from the force sensor were amplified, and were transferred to a PC via a USB port. Using this system, measurements were taken in three infants. The output waveform was observed in all subjects, and the rate of sucking was about two times per second. In addition, the pressure waveform indicated peristalsis-like movement of tongue in infants with established oral feeding. This system can quantitatively measure individual differences in tongue movement.
