A Bio-Inspired Approach to Tongue Model Design for Infant Suckling Force Simulation

The objective of this study was to design and develop a tongue model capable of accurately replicating the tongue movements observed during infant suckling, including jaw elevation, front-tip tongue pressing against the nipple, and milk expulsion through peristaltic movements. In a previous study, our group utilized imaging techniques to analyze tongue movements and combined the data with tongue force measurements to create a distinctive model known as the Bio-Inspired Breastfeeding Simulator (BIBS). While the existing tongue design in the BIBS system is suitable for studying milk flow during breastfeeding, a new tongue design is necessary to investigate the forces involved in the interactions between the tongue and nipple and breast models. To address this need, we designed and developed a novel tongue model based on force and frequency measurements obtained from tongue movement data collected from over 100 infants. These measurements were acquired using a bottle-type device equipped with integrated force sensors. The newly developed tongue model was inspired by clinical data collected and cross-validated with sample infant suckling data, resulting in a model that accurately replicates an infant's feeding dynamics.