Systems and devices for controlling delivery of breast milk supplementation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016288983-A1
Application number	US-201514673437-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 30, 2015
Priority date	Mar 30, 2015
Publication date	Oct 6, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Devices for controlling delivery of a breast milk supplement are described which include a housing sized for placement on a surface near a breast region of a lactating female, the housing including one or more supplement reservoirs, at least one of the supplement reservoirs including a port with a controllable valve, a data storage component including a breast milk supplement regimen, and a control unit including a microprocessor and circuitry, the control unit operably coupled to the data storage component and to the controllable valve, the circuitry including actuation circuitry configured to actuate the controllable valve based on the breast milk supplement regimen; and at least one delivery tube having a first end and a second end, the first end of the at least one delivery tube in fluid communication with the port, the second end of the at least one delivery tube configured for placement in proximity to a nipple of the lactating female.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A breast milk supplement delivery device comprising:
a housing sized for placement on a surface near a breast region of a lactating female, the housing including
one or more supplement reservoirs adapted to contain one or more breast milk supplements, at least one of the one or more supplement reservoirs including a port with a controllable valve;
a data storage component including a breast milk supplement regimen; and
a control unit including a microprocessor and circuitry, the control unit operably coupled to the data storage component and to the controllable valve of the at least one of the one or more supplement reservoirs, the circuitry including actuation circuitry configured to actuate the controllable valve of the at least one of the one or more supplement reservoirs based on the breast milk supplement regimen; and
at least one delivery tube having a first end and a second end, the first end of the at least one delivery tube in fluid communication with the port with the controllable valve, the second end of the at least one delivery tube configured for placement in proximity to a nipple of the lactating female.

2 .- 3 . (canceled)

4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the housing includes one or more straps, the one or more straps sized to extend around a body portion of the lactating female.

5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the housing is sized for at least one of placement in an article of clothing or placement on an article of clothing.

6 . (canceled)

7 . 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.

8 .- 9 . (canceled)

10 . 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.

11 .- 12 . (canceled)

13 . 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 an infant to the specific food type.

14 . (canceled)

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

16 . (canceled)

17 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the actuation circuitry is 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.

18 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the data storage component is incorporated into the control unit.

19 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the data storage component comprises a removable data storage component.

20 . (canceled)

21 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the breast milk supplement regimen is personalized for an infant based on attributes of the infant.

22 .- 23 . (canceled)

24 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the breast milk supplement regimen is personalized for the lactating female based on a quality of breast milk of the lactating female.

25 .- 29 . (canceled)

30 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the breast milk supplement regimen is adjustable based on a change in at least one of an attribute of an infant and a quality of breast milk of the lactating female.

31 . (canceled)

32 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one analyte sensor associated with the second end of the at least one delivery tube, the at least one analyte sensor configured for placement in proximity to the nipple.

33 .- 34 . (canceled)

35 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one delivery event sensor.

36 . The device of claim 35 , 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.

37 . (canceled)

38 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the control unit includes delivery event circuitry configured to receive information associated with a delivery event from at least one delivery event sensor and reporting circuitry configured to report the delivery event.

39 .- 44 . (canceled)

45 . The device of claim 38 , wherein the reporting circuitry includes circuitry configured to report the delivery event to a personal electronic device.

46 . The device of claim 38 , wherein the reporting circuitry includes circuitry configured to report the delivery event to a user interface.

47 .- 48 . (canceled)

49 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a transmission unit operably coupled to the control unit and including circuitry and at least one antenna.

50 .- 52 . (canceled)

53 . The device of claim 49 , wherein the transmission unit is configured to transmit one or more signals having information associated with a delivery event.

54 . (canceled)

55 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising an infant presence detector configured to detect the presence or absence of an infant in proximity to the breast milk supplement delivery device and to provide an infant presence signal to the control unit wherein the actuation circuitry of the control unit is configured to actuate the controllable valve of the at least one of the one or more supplement reservoirs based on the infant presence signal.

56 .- 57 . (canceled)

58 . The device of claim 55 , wherein the infant presence detector comprises at least one of a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, an electrical conductivity sensor, a radar sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a microphone, a camera, a photodetector, or a strain sensor.

59 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a temperature control component.

60 . A breast milk supplement delivery device comprising:
a housing including
one or more supplement reservoirs adapted to contain one or more breast milk supplements, at least one of the one or more supplement reservoirs including a port with a controllable valve; and
a control unit including a microprocessor and circuitry, the control unit operably coupled to the controllable valve of the at least one of the one or more supplement reservoirs, the circuitry including actuation circuitry configured to actuate the controllable valve of the at least one of the one or more supplement reservoirs;
a flexible delivery tube including a first end and a second end, the first end of the flexible delivery tube in fluid communication with the port, the second end of the flexible delivery tube configured for placement in proximity to a nipple of a lactating female; and at least one analyte sensor associated with the second end of the flexible delivery tube and operably coupled to the control unit, wherein the control unit includes ci

Assignees

• Elwha Llc

Inventors

• Chin Hon Wah
• Hyde Roderick A
• Sweeney Elizabeth A
• Wood Jr Lowell L

Classifications

• A61J2200/30

  Compliance analysis for taking medication · CPC title

• A61J2200/42

  Heating means · CPC title

• A61B10/0051

  for taking saliva or sputum samples (devices for receiving spittle A61J9/00) · CPC title

• G16H20/13

  delivered from dispensers · CPC title

• A61J2200/70

  Device provided with specific sensor or indicating means · CPC title