System for synchronizing breast pumping with infant feeding

Abstract

A system embodied in an article of clothing for synchronizing one or more breast-pumping sessions of an individual (such as a mother) and milk consumption by a second individual (such as a baby or infant) is described. In particular, based on measurements of a volume of the collected milk as a function of time and received information specifying milk consumption by the second individual as a function of time, a control circuit may determine a need for milk. Then, the control circuit may provide feedback based on the determined need for milk that synchronizes the one or more breast-pumping sessions and the milk consumption. For example, the feedback may alert the individual to initiate a breast-pumping session and/or may provide a signal to a breast pump that initiates a breast-pumping session.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 an article of clothing;   a breast pump embedded in the article of clothing, the breast pump configured to apply a time-varying suction to a breast; and   a compression element associated with the article of clothing, the compression element configured to apply a time-varying compression to the breast;   wherein a type of compression pattern on the breast is combined with the suction;   wherein the type of compression pattern is concurrently applied with the suction so that suction may be reduced.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the breast pump collects milk from an individual during a breast pumping session and further includes:
 a milk consumption sensor that facilitates specifying milk consumption by a second individual; and   a controller that synchronizes the breast pumping session with milk consumption.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein during operation the breast pump collects milk from an individual during one or more breast-pumping sessions and further comprising:
 a lactation sensor that, during operation, measures a volume of the collected milk as a function of time;   an interface circuit that, during operation, communicates with the consumption sensor associated with a bottle, wherein the communication includes receiving information specifying milk consumption by a second individual as a function of time;   a control circuit associated with the controller and electrically coupled to the lactation sensor and the interface circuit, which, during operation, determines a need for milk based on a temporal pattern of the volume of the collected milk and a temporal pattern of the milk consumption, and provides feedback based on the determined need for milk that synchronizes the one or more breast-pumping sessions and the milk consumption.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the feedback alerts the individual to initiate a breast-pumping session. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the feedback includes a signal to the breast pump that initiates a breast-pumping session. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the system further comprises a sensor, electrically coupled to the control circuit, which, during operation, measures one of: a vital sign of the individual as a function of time, a biomarker of the individual as a function of time, and an activity pattern of the individual as a function of time; and
 wherein the control circuit determines the need for milk based on one of: a temporal pattern of the vital sign, a temporal pattern of the biomarker, and a temporal pattern of the activity pattern.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein, during operation, the interface circuit receives additional information specifying one of: a vital sign of the second individual as a function of time, a biomarker of the second individual as a function of time, and an activity pattern of the second individual as a function of time; and
 wherein the control circuit determines the need for milk based on one of: a temporal pattern of the vital sign, a temporal pattern of the biomarker, and a temporal pattern of the activity pattern.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the control circuit determines the need for milk based on a day of the week. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the received information specifies one of: a temperature of milk in the bottle; and a time duration since the milk in the bottle was collected; and
 wherein the control circuit determines the need for milk based on one of: the temperature of the milk in the bottle, and the time duration.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 3 , further comprising memory that stores a program module with instructions for determining the need for milk and providing the feedback; and
 wherein control circuit includes a processor that, during operation, executes the program module.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the determining is based on a supervised-learning model that relates the need for milk, the temporal pattern of the volume of the collected milk, and the temporal pattern of the milk consumption. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the feedback maximizes an average volume of the milk collected during a given breast-pumping session. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 3 , further comprising a feedback device; and
 wherein, during a given breast-pumping session, the feedback device provides to the individual encouragement about milk collection.