Companies team with Harvard researchers to study neonatal brain injury

Two companies have joined forces with Harvard Medical School in an attempt to learn more about neonatal brain injury. According to an article on the Fierce Biotech website, while there’s current technology to help doctors and surgeons detect brain injury in infants, there’s also a lot of concerns about the technology in place when it […]

Two companies have joined forces with Harvard Medical School in an attempt to learn more about neonatal brain injury.

According to an article on the Fierce Biotech website, while there’s current technology to help doctors and surgeons detect brain injury in infants, there’s also a lot of concerns about the technology in place when it comes to sensitivity of the devices and the cost to use them.

That’s why NFANT Labs and Boston Children’s Hospital have teamed with Harvard Medical School to investigate a link between feeding performance and neonatal brain injury.

“Specifically, the trio will study neonatal sucking patterns as an indicator of neurodevelopment,” the article reads.

The team will use magnetoencephalography to find a clear association between early feeding patterns and brain abnormalities, according to a statement.

“The partners will use the nfant Feeding Solution in their project. It’s a smart baby bottle that measures an infant’s tongue motion on its nipple and wirelessly transmits this data to a mobile app,” the article reads. “It helps determine if an infant’s tongue is strong enough to transition from tube feeding to bottle or breast feeding. The FDA cleared the device in 2015.”

NFANT Labs is a medical device and digital health company dedicated to improving the standard of care in infant feeding by providing medical products and services without prohibitive cost.

Currently, the NICU feeding experience is one of uncertainty and financial hurdles. At NFANT Labs, the company state’s its belief is that care in the NICU can be continuously improved and affordable when caregivers are empowered with the right tools for vital decisions and treatments.

“Neonatal feeding screening could help identify at-risk infants early, so caregivers may identify brain injury and intervene sooner rather than later,” NFANT Labs said in the statement. “This partnership with leaders in the scientific community will further demonstrate the value of nfant Feeding Solution beyond just feeding disorders and help patients with underlying neurodevelopmental issues typically not detected until early childhood.”