Children move to learn
It is now commonly accepted that the motor development of a young child is not independent of all other neurocognitive development. The strong innate drive of the child to move has emerged from a clear need: the child must move a lot to gain experience and learn from the surrounding environment. “It is therefore important to encourage children to move as naturally and as much as possible in everyday life situations,” says Haataja.
A child with motor or other neurological challenges will need special support or therapies, which work best if they are part of the child’s everyday life and environment. The MAIJU smart jumpsuit makes it possible to find better therapeutic strategies in such situations and to assess the efficacy of such therapies.
Developing a smart wearable for medical use is a challenge many times harder than bringing a consumer product to the market. Vanhatalo believes that their successful work in wearable development has extensive global impact and a bright future.
“Our methods can be automatised and scaled up for very wide use. It is also possible that our technology could be adapted for developing wearable solutions to help other patient groups, such as older children or even elderly people.”
The research was published in Communications Medicine.
Source: University of Helsinki
Source: Healthcare in Europe
