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Updated: Aug 23, 2025
Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable
Published on: May 17, 2024
Early screening tool for developmental delay in infancy: Quantified assessment of movement asymmetry using IR-UWB
Jae Yoon Na1, Won Hyuk Lee2, Young-Hyo Lim3
1Department of Pediatrics, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Insights
Impulse-radio ultrawideband (IR-UWB) radar offers a novel, noncontact method for early developmental delay screening. This technology accurately tracked movement asymmetry in an infant with hydrocephalus, aiding early intervention.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neurology
Background:
- Premature birth heightens risks of infant brain injury and developmental delays, necessitating early detection.
- Current infant screening methods for developmental delays are limited in quantifying movement differences.
- Hydrocephalus in infants can lead to motor impairments, underscoring the need for sensitive screening tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the feasibility of using impulse-radio ultrawideband (IR-UWB) radar for noncontact, early screening of developmental delay.
- To quantify movement asymmetry in an infant with hydrocephalus using IR-UWB radar.
- To evaluate IR-UWB radar as a novel tool for predicting motor disorders in infancy.
Main Methods:
- Simultaneous data collection using IR-UWB radar, actigraphy, and video camcorder recordings for movement analysis.
- Quantified movement asymmetry and total movement over time in an infant with hydrocephalus.
- Compared IR-UWB radar data with actigraphy (reference standard) for movement measurement agreement.
Main Results:
- IR-UWB radar data showed high concordance with actigraphy (ρ=0.66 left, ρ=0.56 right).
- Total movement measured by radar increased over time, with initial left-side dominance (75.2%) shifting to balanced movement post-surgery (54.8%).
- Radar-detected movement lateralization correlated with clinical improvements following hydrocephalus treatment.
Conclusions:
- IR-UWB radar is a viable noncontact technology for assessing infant general movements and detecting asymmetry.
- This radar system shows promise as an early screening tool for developmental delays and motor disorders.
- The technology can complement existing methods, providing valuable data for early intervention in infants with neurological conditions.
Abstract:
In the untact COVID-19 era, the feasibility of a noncontact, impulse-radio ultrawideband (IR-UWB) radar sensor has important medical implications. Premature birth is a major risk factor for brain injury and developmental delay; therefore, early intervention is crucial for potentially achieving better developmental outcomes. Early detection and screening tests in infancy are limited to the quantification of differences between normal and spastic movements. This study investigated the quantified asymmetry in the general movements of an infant with hydrocephalus and proposes IR-UWB radar as a novel, early screening tool for developmental delay. To support this state-of-the-art technology, data from actigraphy and video camcorder recordings were adopted simultaneously to compare relevant time series as the infant grew. The data from the three different methods were highly concordant; specifically, the ρ values comparing radar and actigraphy, which served as the reference for measuring movements, showed excellent agreement, with values of 0.66 on the left and 0.56 on the right. The total amount of movement measured by radar over time increased overall; movements were almost dominant on the left at first (75.2% of total movements), but following shunt surgery, the frequency of movement on both sides was similar (54.8% of total movements). As the hydrocephalus improved, the lateralization of movement on radar began to coincide with the clinical features. These results support the important complementary role of this radar system in predicting motor disorders very early in life.
