Abstract
Purpose: In general, the development of infants is promoted through their own early spontaneous movements. However, the characteristics of spontaneous movements and effects of interventions in extremely low-birth weight (ELBW) infants are unclear. The purpose of this study was to reveal the characteristics of spontaneous movements and the effects of the use of an infant pillow in ELBW infants at 1-month corrected age.
Methods: We evaluated spontaneous movements with and without the pillow in 8 ELBW infants and 8 term infants. The mean gestational age and birth weight of the ELBW infants were 24.6 weeks and 729 g, respectively. The ELBW infants were evaluated in Tokyo Women’s Medical University Hospital at 1-month corrected age. The term infants were evaluated at their home at 1 month after birth. Spontaneous movements were analyzed using the Microsoft Kinect depth sensor. The recorded spontaneous movements were quantified using 4 movement indexes (velocity, laterality index, jerk index, and kurtosis of acceleration). The results were calculated from three-dimensional trajectories of the arms.
Results: Velocity, jerk index, and kurtosis of acceleration showed no significant differences between the groups with and without the pillow. The laterality index was higher in the ELBW infants than in the term infants without a pillow, but no significant difference was found between the groups with a pillow.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that spontaneous movements of ELBW infants are more asymmetrical than those of term infants. Use of an infant pillow can improve the asymmetrical movements of ELBW infants.
