Descripción del proyecto
Un sensor de pezón para controlar la eficiencia de la lactación
La Organización Mundial de la Salud recomienda la lactancia materna durante los primeros seis meses de vida y subraya la importancia de la leche materna en la salud infantil. Sin embargo, una proporción importante de mujeres tiene problemas para producir suficiente leche. El equipo del proyecto financiado con fondos europeos LactIns-and-outs está interesado en comprender las causas de una producción de leche insuficiente y determinar la composición de la leche durante la lactancia. Para ello, los científicos desarrollarán un sensor compacto incorporado en una pezonera. Dicho sensor integrará un método óptico que caracteriza los glóbulos de grasa de la leche y mide parámetros fisiológicos mamarios en tiempo real. La aplicación de este sensor mejorará los resultados de la lactancia y ayudará a diagnosticar la hipogalactia.
Objetivo
Breastfeeding is important for infant and maternal health. However, 10-15% of breastfeeding women fail to produce enough milk, while 40-50% give up early because of perceived insufficiency. As a result, only a minority meet the WHO recommendation to exclusively breastfeed during the first six months. To address this public health challenge, two key questions need to be solved: What do nursing infants actually drink? And how is this milk transfer regulated by mammary physiology?
My vision is to pioneer new, quantitative methods that allow to solve these fundamental questions. Building on my expertise in biophotonic innovations for neonatal care, I propose to develop non-invasive optical tools to quantify milk transfer in situ (WP1) and map the causes of lactation insufficiency from the largely unexplored perspective of mammary physiology (WP2).
In WP1, the scientific challenge is to develop methods for inline monitoring of both the milk volume consumed and its varying composition during a breastfeed. I propose two novel optical methods based on light scattering by milk fat globules, building upon laser Doppler flowmetry (volumetric flow rate) and angular resolved light scattering spectroscopy (composition). The technological challenge is to integrate both methods into a safe, compact sensor prototype, engineered into a nipple shield.
In WP2, I will translate the technology of Diffuse Optical Spectroscopic Imaging (DOSI) to lactation science. Here, the scientific challenge is to quantify mammary physiological parameters in real-time, using DOSI and my sensor from WP1 during live breastfeeds. In both WPs, I will use state-of-the-art (medical) ultrasound for validation.
By engineering dedicated tools for lactation research, this project will enable a leap forward in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of both actual and perceived lactation insufficiency. In turn, this will lead to better breastfeeding support and improved individual and public health outcomes.
Ámbito científico
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesnursing
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinephysiology
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesacousticsultrasound
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsspectroscopy
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
HORIZON-AG - HORIZON Action Grant Budget-BasedInstitución de acogida
7522 NB Enschede
Países Bajos