NFANT Feeding Solution was Nominated for the Impact Pediatrics Award
Successfully feeding a baby isn’t as easy as it sounds. In fact, it’s a complex skill that infants learn after they are born. It is surprising to many that infants, up to 70% of premature infants and 10% of infants born full term, struggle with feeding.
The brain of a premature baby is not fully developed, which can make feeding a challenge. Gilson Capilouto, Ph.D., a Speech and Language Pathologist and Co-Founder of nfant© Feeding Solution, worked with infants in the NICU assisting premature babies who struggled with eating. She observed that the clinical decisions regarding how to help an infant who was struggling with eating was subjective, and it took many trials over time to progress the infant on their pathway to thrive.
With the creation of nfant© Feeding Solution, the first FDA cleared IoT device for the NICU developed by NFANT Labs, clinical intervention for feeding no longer had to be subjective, but could be based on real time biofeedback and objective metrics. To aggregate the metrics, NFANT Labs partnered with Ad Victoriam Solutions who created the mobile app, web portal and data services to capture tens of thousands of data points in real time for each feeding session.
Launched approximately three years ago, the nfant© Feeding Solution is now available in the NICU’s of more than 15 hospitals and is helping clinicians transition premature infants to independent oral feeding. In recognition of the nfant© Feeding Solution success, NFANT Labs has been selected as a 2018 finalist for the South by Southwest Impact Pediatrics Award.
While NFANT Labs is hoping to win the prestigious Impact Pediatrics Award, they are also interested in networking with hospitals at the event so more clinicians can use the feeding solution to speed the assessment and clinical intervention process for infant feeding. Today, infants don’t leave the hospital until their hearing and vision are checked. NFANT Labs hopes that one day, all infants are screened for feeding trouble as well to ensure that infants are in an optimal position to thrive.
