A compact, wireless system for continuous monitoring of breast milk expressed during breastfeeding

Jihye Kim; Seyong Oh; Raudel Avila; Hee Sup Shin; Matthew Banet; Jennifer Wicks; Anthony R. Banks; Yonggang Huang; Jae Young Yoo; Daniel T. Robinson; Craig F. Garfield; John A. Rogers

doi:10.1038/s41551-025-01393-w

A compact, wireless system for continuous monitoring of breast milk expressed during breastfeeding

Jihye Kim, Seyong Oh, Raudel Avila, Hee Sup Shin, Matthew Banet, Jennifer Wicks, Anthony R. Banks, Yonggang Huang, Jae Young Yoo^*, Daniel T. Robinson^*, Craig F. Garfield^*, John A. Rogers^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Human milk is the ideal source of nutrition for infants. Most health organizations recommend direct breastfeeding from the first hour of life, extending throughout the first and second year. However, uncertainties regarding the volumes of milk ingested by the infant contribute to suboptimal rates of breastfeeding. Here we introduce a compact and unobtrusive device that gently interfaces to the breast via four electrodes and accurately measures expressed milk volume during breastfeeding through changes in the alternating current impedance. The data pass wirelessly to a smartphone continuously throughout each breastfeeding session for real-time graphical display. Comprehensive experimental and computational results establish the operating principles and guide engineering choices for optimized performance. Evaluations with 12 breastfeeding mothers over periods of as long as 17 weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit and in home settings illustrate the practical utility of this technology in addressing a critically important unmet need in maternal and neonatal care.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	e2022057988
Journal	Nature Biomedical Engineering
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-025-01393-w
State	Accepted/In press - 2025

Funding

This work was supported by the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics at Northwestern University. S.O. acknowledges funding from a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant (2021R1C1C2010180) funded by the Korea government (MSIT), and the DHA SBIR Phase II award (W81XWH22C0106). R.A. acknowledges support from the ASME\u2014Applied Mechanics Division Haythornthwaite Foundation Research Initiation Grant. J.-Y.Y. acknowledges funding from the Basic Research Laboratory (BRL) Project of National Research Foundation (RS-2024-00406674) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea, as well as the Technology Innovation Program (RS-2024-00443121) funded by the Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy (MOTIE, Korea).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Biotechnology
Bioengineering
Medicine (miscellaneous)
Biomedical Engineering
Computer Science Applications

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1038/s41551-025-01393-w

Cite this

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title = "A compact, wireless system for continuous monitoring of breast milk expressed during breastfeeding",

abstract = "Human milk is the ideal source of nutrition for infants. Most health organizations recommend direct breastfeeding from the first hour of life, extending throughout the first and second year. However, uncertainties regarding the volumes of milk ingested by the infant contribute to suboptimal rates of breastfeeding. Here we introduce a compact and unobtrusive device that gently interfaces to the breast via four electrodes and accurately measures expressed milk volume during breastfeeding through changes in the alternating current impedance. The data pass wirelessly to a smartphone continuously throughout each breastfeeding session for real-time graphical display. Comprehensive experimental and computational results establish the operating principles and guide engineering choices for optimized performance. Evaluations with 12 breastfeeding mothers over periods of as long as 17 weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit and in home settings illustrate the practical utility of this technology in addressing a critically important unmet need in maternal and neonatal care.",

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AU - Kim, Jihye

AU - Oh, Seyong

AU - Avila, Raudel

AU - Shin, Hee Sup

AU - Banet, Matthew

AU - Wicks, Jennifer

AU - Banks, Anthony R.

AU - Huang, Yonggang

AU - Yoo, Jae Young

AU - Robinson, Daniel T.

AU - Garfield, Craig F.

AU - Rogers, John A.

PY - 2025

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AB - Human milk is the ideal source of nutrition for infants. Most health organizations recommend direct breastfeeding from the first hour of life, extending throughout the first and second year. However, uncertainties regarding the volumes of milk ingested by the infant contribute to suboptimal rates of breastfeeding. Here we introduce a compact and unobtrusive device that gently interfaces to the breast via four electrodes and accurately measures expressed milk volume during breastfeeding through changes in the alternating current impedance. The data pass wirelessly to a smartphone continuously throughout each breastfeeding session for real-time graphical display. Comprehensive experimental and computational results establish the operating principles and guide engineering choices for optimized performance. Evaluations with 12 breastfeeding mothers over periods of as long as 17 weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit and in home settings illustrate the practical utility of this technology in addressing a critically important unmet need in maternal and neonatal care.

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A compact, wireless system for continuous monitoring of breast milk expressed during breastfeeding

Abstract

Funding

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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