Investigation of Forces Applied to an Artificial Nipple Using a Four‐Node Model Simulating Infant Tongue Movement

The purpose of this study is to estimate the forces applied to several types of artificial nipples using a four‐node model that simulates the tongue movements of infants during sucking. A tongue movement simulator was developed using data previously collected from a population of more than 100 infants. We showed that different artificial nipples result in different output forces when the same force is applied at a given position in the four‐node model. We also showed that the force output varied with slight changes in the position of a given artificial nipple. Furthermore, the analysis of force in 62 cases as a function of the position of the bottle (different lengths, heights, and angles) using multiple regression suggested a relationship between force and bottle position. The findings of this study confirm the importance of estimating the force quantitatively. Further research in this direction can contribute to identify selection criteria and assess the insertion position of artificial nipples. © 2024 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC.