Patent ID: 8251926

Claim:
A system for use with a subject having a mouth, the system comprising: a baglet, adapted for non-nutritive sucking on by the subject; a plurality of orofacial sensors, adapted to sense at least one non-nutritive suck signal and at least one facial musculature signal, the plurality of orofacial sensors including a plurality of electrodes configured to sense the at least one facial musculature signal; a processor, adapted to receive the at least one non-nutritive suck signal and the at least one facial musculature signal; and a stimulus device configured to apply a mechanical stimulus on tissue of the subject outside of the subject's mouth, the stimulus device using at least one sensor for operating the stimulus device under force-feedback, such that the stimulus device is programmed to follow movement of at least a portion of the tissue outside of the subject's mouth to impart stimulus delivery, wherein the processor is configured to automatically compute a non-nutritive suck profile indication using one or both of: the at least one non-nutritive suck signal and the at least one facial musculature signal, and to compute a suck deficiency indication using, at least in part, the non-nutritive suck profile indication and a predetermined suck profile, and the stimulus device provides the stimulus based, at least in part, on the suck deficiency indication.