System for evaluating an infant's perception of a tactile quality of an article of manufacture

Abstract

Disclosed is a system, method, and device for detecting non-nutritive sucking events produced by an infant; patterns comprising such events (i.e., rhythmic sucking patterns, or RSPs); and relating said events and/or RSPs to an infant's perception of a tactile quality, or a physical property corresponding to that tactile quality. The frequency and/or amplitude and/or other characteristics of non-nutritive sucking can change in response to such inputs. Accordingly, changes to RSPs offer detectable and measurable indicia of an infant's perception of these inputs. Furthermore, such information may be used to support and/or substantiate marketing communications to consumers; to guide selection and/or management of research-and-development programs; to help choose product designs that elicit RSPs identified as correlating with the well being of an infant; and other such uses.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.