System design for moro reflex measurement

Moro reflex, which is defined as protective motor response against involuntary sudden unbalance of the body or excessive sudden stimuli of newborns, indicates functional impairment or brain damage in infants if it is weak, not present or still present when it is expected to disappear. Therefore, correct assessment of moro reflex, making the correct diagnosis if there is a damage in the nervous system, and starting treatment on time is very important. Clinical practice of moro reflex is applied by observing the baby's arm and leg movements while the doctor holds the baby's hands and drops the baby on bed. The accuracy of the diagnosis and treatment on evaluation is directly related to the doctor's experience. That's why several studies have been found in literature to make objective diagnosis. However, the proposed methods of those studies have been used in several research and their clinical applications could not be found. In this study, in addition to tracking baby movements using a simple web camera, an objective moro reflex measurement and analysis system which for the first time in literature can measure the movements with 3-axis and sensitivity that is smaller than millisecond and can be detected with an accelerometer and also can be easily applied in the clinic, is aimed to develop. With the improved system, latency (moro delay) time and total moro reflex time can be determined from both camera image and 3-axis acceleration data. Additionally, with the improved system by calculating the correlation of the changes of the baby's movements in 3-axis, the information whether the baby's arms move symmetrically or not can be assessed objectively. According to the results of applications of two doctoral studies with the improved system, it is determined that the measurement results are quite consistent and just 3-4 minutes are enough for record and analysis. Consequently, a moro reflex measurement and analysis system has been developed with a relatively low cost, easy to use and easily applied in clinics.