Patent ID: 8473219

Claim:
A computational method for generating a feeding score for an individual infant indicative of feeding performance comprising the following steps: a) receiving digitized data corresponding to two or more feeding factor measurements obtained from the individual infant, wherein said feeding factor measurements are indicative of physical, physiological, or behavioral responses produced during at least one feeding session for the individual infant; b) providing at least one feeding parameter relating said two or more feeding factor measurements, and calculating, for said at least one feeding parameter, a value based on said two or more feeding factor measurements; c) providing a set of feeding parameter metrics comprising at least one distribution of values derived from feeding sessions of a population of infants having a similar gestational age as the individual infant; d) comparing the value for said at least one feeding parameter with the set of feeding parameter metrics and deriving a referenced feeding score for the individual infant relative to the set of feeding parameter metrics; e) outputting the referenced feeding score to a user as a percentile or a percentile range within the at least one distribution of values comprising the feeding parameter metrics, wherein said referenced feeding score represents the feeding performance of the individual infant, and wherein steps a) through e) are performed on a suitably programmed computer.