Systems and devices for controlling delivery of breast milk supplementation

• US 10,016,341 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2015
• Issued: 07/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Chin, Hon Wah, Hyde, Roderick A., Sweeney, Elizabeth A., Wood, Jr., Lowell L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Osinski, Bradley J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah, Nilay
• Application Number:
  US14/673,456
• Publication Number:
  US 20160287481A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,198 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/0051 for taking saliva or sputum samples devices for receiving spittle A61J9/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 11/0005 having additional ports, e.g. for connecting syringes or straws devices for administering medicines orally A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 13/00 Breast-nipple shields breast-pumps A61M1/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 15/0011 Feeding-tubes for delivery of nourishment to the mouth; Mouth pieces therefor breast-nipple shields A61J13/00; mouth pieces for drinking straws A47G21/185; straws to take medicine A61J7/0038, mouthpieces for tracheal tubes A61M16/0488
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/30 Compliance analysis for taking medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/42 Heating means
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/70 Device provided with specific sensor or indicating means
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/74 for weight
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/60 using magnetic or electronic identifications, e.g. chips, RFID, electronic tags
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0015 Devices specially adapted for taking medicines
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0053 Syringes, pipettes or oral dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0076 Medicament distribution means with pill counting devices A61J7/02; with time indication A61J7/04; containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents B65D83/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 9/00 Feeding-bottles in general
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2210/1007 Breast; mammary
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

Systems and devices for controlling delivery of a breast milk supplement are described which include a nipple component including aperture; a guard component attached to the nipple component; a supplement reservoir including a port with a controllable valve, the supplement reservoir adapted to contain one or more breast milk supplements, a flow conduit disposed within at least a portion of the nipple component and having a first end in fluid communication with the aperture and a second end in fluid communication with the port; a data storage component including a breast milk supplement regimen; and a control unit operably coupled to the controllable valve and the data storage component and including a microprocessor and circuitry, the circuitry including actuation circuitry configured to actuate the controllable valve to module release of the one or more breast milk supplements based on the breast milk supplement regimen.

Claims

1. A breast milk supplement delivery device comprising:

a nipple component sized for placement in an infant'"'"'s mouth, the nipple component having a first end and a second end, the first end of the nipple component including an aperture;

a guard component attached to the second end of the nipple component and including one or more ventilation apertures defined by the guard component;

at least one exhaled breath analyte sensor associated with the one or more ventilation apertures defined by the guard component, the at least one exhaled breath analyte sensor positioned to sense at least one analyte in exhaled breath of the infant;

a supplement reservoir disposed within the nipple component and including a port with a controllable valve, the supplement reservoir adapted to contain one or more breast milk supplements;

a flow conduit having a first end in fluid communication with the aperture on the first end of the nipple component and a second end in fluid communication with the port of the supplement reservoir disposed within the nipple component;

a breast milk supplement regimen stored in a data storage component the breast milk supplement regimen personalized based on a nutritional need of the infant and including dosage, timing, and composition of the one or more breast milk supplements; and

a control unit including a microprocessor and circuitry, the control unit associated with at least one of the nipple component and the guard component and operably coupled to the controllable valve of the supplement reservoir, the at least one exhaled breath analyte sensor, and the data storage component, the circuitry including circuitry configured to receive the breast milk supplement regimen from the data storage component;

actuation circuitry configured to actuate the controllable valve to modulate release of the one or more breast milk supplements from the supplement reservoir based on the breast milk supplement regimen;

circuitry configured to receive information from the at least one exhaled breath analyte sensor regarding the sensed at least one analyte in the exhaled breath of the infant; and

circuitry configured to modify at least one of the dosage, timing, and composition of the breast milk supplement regimen if the received information from the at least one exhaled breath analyte sensor is indicative of a change in the nutritional need of the infant.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more breast milk supplements comprises a lipid, a protein, an oligosaccharide, a fatty acid, a carbohydrate, a nutrient, a micronutrient, a vitamin, an amino acid, a mineral a therapeutic agent, an antimicrobial agent, a prebiotic, a probiotic, or a nucleotide.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more breast milk supplements comprises an appetite stimulator or an appetite suppressant.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more breast milk supplements comprises a flavoring associated with a specific food type, the flavoring intended to acclimate the infant to the specific food type.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the controllable valve includes an actuator, the actuator operably coupled to the actuation circuitry.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the actuation circuitry includes circuitry configured to at least one of open the controllable valve, close the controllable valve, change a pressure threshold of the controllable valve, increase an opening size of the controllable valve, decrease an opening size of the controllable valve, or alter a permeability or porosity of the controllable valve.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the breast milk supplement regimen is personalized for the nutritional need of the infant and at least one of age, weight, genome, gender, ethnicity, and medical condition of the infant.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the breast milk supplement regimen is personalized for the nutritional need of the infant and a quality of breast milk of a lactating female.

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one delivery event sensor configured to sense a delivery event, wherein the delivery event includes controlled release of the one or more breast milk supplements from the supplement reservoir and to the infant; and

wherein the control unit includes delivery event circuitry configured to receive information associated with the sensed delivery event from the at least one delivery event sensor, the received information including at least one of a breast milk supplement type, a dosage, an infant identifier, a time, and a date; and

reporting circuitry configured to report the delivery event.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the at least one delivery event sensor includes at least one of a flow sensor, a pressure sensor, a strain sensor, a conductivity sensor, an acoustic sensor, an optical transmission sensor, a clock, or a weight sensor.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the reporting circuitry includes circuitry configured to report the delivery event including the at least one of the breast milk supplement type, the dosage, the infant identifier, the time, and the date to a mobile communication device.

12. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmission unit including circuitry and at least one antenna, wherein the transmission unit is operably coupled to the control unit and configured to transmit information associated with a delivery event to a mobile communication device, the information associated with the delivery event including at least one of a breast milk supplement type, a dosage, an infant identifier, a time and a date.

13. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a pressure transducer positioned in the flow conduit of the nipple component;

wherein the pressure transducer is configured to detect negative pressure associated with the infant sucking on the nipple component, and to provide an infant presence signal to the control unit; and

wherein the actuation circuitry includes circuitry configured to actuate the controllable valve of the supplement reservoir based on the infant presence signal and the breast milk supplement regimen.

14. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a temperature control component configured to control a temperature of at least one of a portion of the nipple component and the supplement reservoir.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one exhaled breath analyte sensor is incorporated into a meshwork spanning the one or more ventilation apertures defined by the guard component.

16. A pacifier device for controlled delivery of breast milk supplements comprising:

a nipple component sized for placement in an infant'"'"'s mouth, the nipple component having a first end and a second end, the first end of the nipple component including an aperture;

a guard component attached to the second end of the nipple component and including one or more ventilation apertures defined by the guard component;

two or more disposable supplement reservoirs reversibly attachable to the guard component, each of the two or more disposable supplement reservoirs including a port with a controllable valve, each of the two or more disposable supplement reservoirs adapted to contain one or more breast milk supplements;

a flow conduit disposed within at least a portion of the nipple component, a first end of the flow conduit in fluid communication with the aperture on the first end of the nipple component and a second end of the flow conduit in fluid communication with the port of each of the two or more disposable supplement reservoirs;

one or more exhaled breath analyte sensors associated with the one or more ventilation apertures defined by the guard component, the one or more exhaled breath analyte sensors positioned to sense at least one analyte in exhaled breath of the infant; and

a control unit including a microprocessor and circuitry, the control unit operably coupled to the controllable valve of each of the two or more disposable supplement reservoirs and to the one or more exhaled breath analyte sensors, the circuitry including actuation circuitry configured to actuate the controllable valve of each of the two or more disposable supplement reservoirs;

wherein the control unit includes circuitry configured to receive information associated with at least one analyte in the exhaled breath of the infant from at least one of the one or more exhaled breath analyte sensors and to actuate the controllable valve of at least one of the two or more disposable supplement reservoirs to modulate release of the one or more breast milk supplements from the at least one of the two or more disposable supplement reservoirs in response to the received information associated with the at least one analyte in the exhaled breath of the infant.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the controllable valve includes an actuator, the actuator operably coupled to the actuation circuitry.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the actuator includes at least one of a pneumatic actuator, a hydraulic actuator, a magnetic actuator, or an electric actuator.

19. The device of claim 16, wherein at least one of the one or more exhaled breath analyte sensors is configured to sense at least one of a lipid, a protein, an oligosaccharide, a fatty acid, a carbohydrate, a nutrient, a micronutrient, a vitamin, an amino acid, a mineral, or a nucleotide in the exhaled breath of the infant.

20. The device of claim 16, wherein at least one of the one or more exhaled breath analyte sensors is configured to sense a microorganism in the exhaled breath of the infant.

21. The device of claim 16, further comprising:

at least one delivery event sensor configured to sense a delivery event, wherein the delivery event includes controlled release of the one or more breast milk supplements from at least one of the two or more disposable supplement reservoirs to the infant; and

wherein the control unit includes delivery event circuitry configured to receive information associated with the sensed delivery event from the at least one delivery event sensor, the received information including at least one of a breast milk supplement type, a dosage, an infant identifier, a time, and a date; and

reporting circuitry configured to report the delivery event including the at least one of the breast milk supplement type, the dosage, the infant identifier, the time, and the date to a mobile device.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein the reporting circuitry includes circuitry configured to report the delivery event through at least one of a radiofrequency transmission, a radiofrequency identification (RFID) transmission, an optical transmission, or an audio transmission.

23. The device of claim 16, further comprising:

a transmission unit including circuitry and at least one antenna, wherein the transmission unit is operably coupled to the control unit and configured to transmit one or more signals having information associated with a delivery event to a mobile device, the information associated with the delivery event including at least one of a breast milk supplement type, a dosage, an infant identifier, a time and a date.

24. The device of claim 16, further comprising:

a breast milk supplement regimen personalized based on a nutritional need of the infant and including dosage, timing and composition of the one or more breast milk supplements, wherein the breast milk supplement regimen is stored on a data storage component operably coupled to the control unit, wherein the control unit includes circuitry configured to update the personalized breast milk supplement regimen in response to the received information associated with the at least one exhaled breath analyte.

25. The device of claim 16, further comprising:

a temperature sensor associated with the nipple component;

wherein the temperature sensor is positioned to sense a change in temperature when the nipple component comes in contact with the infant'"'"'s mouth, and configured to provide an infant presence signal to the control unit;

wherein the actuation circuitry includes circuitry configured to actuate the controllable valve of at least one of the two or more disposable supplement reservoirs based on the infant presence signal.

26. The device of claim 16, wherein the one or more exhaled breath analyte sensors are incorporated into a meshwork spanning the one or more ventilation apertures defined by the guard component.

27. A breast milk supplement delivery system comprising:

a delivery unit including

a nipple component sized for placement in an infant'"'"'s mouth, the nipple component having a first end and a second end, the first end of the nipple component including an aperture;

a guard component attached to the second end of the nipple component and including one or more ventilation apertures defined by the guard component;

at least one exhaled breath analyte sensor associated with the one or more ventilation apertures defined by the guard component, the at least one exhaled breath analyte sensor positioned to sense at least one analyte in exhaled breath of the infant;

a supplement reservoir disposed within the nipple component and including a port with a controllable valve, the supplement reservoir adapted to contain one or more breast milk supplements;

a flow conduit having a first end in fluid communication with the aperture on the first end of the nipple component and a second end in fluid communication with the port of the supplement reservoir disposed within the nipple component; and

a transmission unit including an antenna;

a breast milk supplement regimen stored on a data storage component, wherein the breast milk supplement regimen is personalized based on a nutritional need of the infant and includes dosage, timing, and composition of the one or more breast milk supplements; and

a mobile device including

a second transmission unit including a second antenna, the second transmission unit configured to communicate with the transmission unit of the delivery unit;

a user interface including a display; and

a control unit including a microprocessor and circuitry, the control unit including circuitry configured to access the breast milk supplement regimen from the data storage component;

actuation circuitry configured to wirelessly actuate the controllable valve of the supplement reservoir to modulate release of the one or more breast milk supplements based on the breast milk supplement regimen;

circuitry configured to wirelessly receive information associated with the sensed at least one analyte in the exhaled breath of the infant from the at least one exhaled breath analyte sensor associated with the delivery unit; and

circuitry configured to modify at least one of the dosage, timing, and composition of the breast milk supplement regimen if the received information associated with the sensed at least one analyte in the exhaled breast of the infant is indicative of a change in the nutritional need of the infant.

28. The delivery system of claim 27, wherein the data storage component including the breast milk supplement regimen is incorporated into the control unit of the mobile device.

29. The delivery system of claim 27, wherein the data storage component including the breast milk supplement regimen is on a remote computing device and accessible to the control unit of the mobile device.

30. The delivery system of claim 27, wherein the control unit of the mobile device includes

delivery event circuitry configured to wirelessly receive information associated with a delivery event from the delivery unit, wherein the received information associated with the delivery event includes at least one of a breast milk supplement type, a dosage, an infant identifier, a time, and a date;

and

reporting circuitry configured to report the received information associated with the delivery event including the at least one of the breast milk supplement type, the dosage, the infant identifier, the time, and the date to the display of the mobile device.

31. The delivery system of claim 27, further comprising:

at least one pressure sensor positioned in proximity to the nipple component of the delivery unit to detect pressure on the nipple component of the delivery unit;

wherein the at least one pressure transducer is configured to provide an infant presence signal to the control unit of the mobile device in response to detected pressure on the nipple component of the delivery unit; and

wherein the actuation circuitry includes circuitry configured to wirelessly actuate the controllable valve of the supplement reservoir of the delivery unit based on the infant presence signal.

32. The delivery system of claim 27, further comprising:

at least one delivery event sensor configured to sense a delivery event, wherein the delivery event includes controlled release of the one or more breast milk supplements from the supplement reservoir and to the infant; and

wherein the control unit includes delivery event circuitry configured to wirelessly receive information associated with sensed delivery event from the at least one delivery event sensor, the received information associated with the sensed delivery event including at least one of a breast milk supplement type, a dosage, an infant identifier, a time, and a date; and

reporting circuitry configured to report the delivery event on the display of the mobile device.

33. The delivery system of claim 27, wherein at least one of the one or more exhaled breath analyte sensors is configured to sense at least one of a lipid, a protein, an oligosaccharide, a fatty acid, a carbohydrate, a nutrient, a micronutrient, a vitamin, an amino acid, a mineral, or a nucleotide in the exhaled breath of the infant.

34. The delivery system of claim 27, wherein at least one of the one or more exhaled breath analyte sensors is configured to sense at least one microorganism in the exhaled breath of the infant.

35. The delivery system of claim 27, wherein the at least one exhaled breath analyte sensor is incorporated into a meshwork spanning the one or more ventilation apertures defined by the guard component.