Professor Kazuyuki Shinohara of Nagasaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Unicharm Co., Ltd. are jointly studying the tactile sensation around the waist of a baby.As a result, it was discovered that the baby felt comfortable on the tummy side rather than on the back side.
Recent studies on babies have shown that tactile sensation has been developed since fetal life, and that skinship from birth affects the subsequent development of infants.Therefore, Professor Shinohara of Nagasaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Unicharm's Institute for Symbiotic Society jointly focused on the tummy and back where paper diapers are always in contact with the body in the daily life of babies. The responsiveness of the brain was studied.
In the experiment, a total of 4 healthy Japanese babies (average 10 months) from 21 to 6.8 months were targeted for soft materials (velvet), hard materials (round-shaped stacks), newly developed diaper materials, and conventional diapers. NIRS * measures changes in cerebral blood flow using four types of diapers.The amount of change in cerebral blood flow from rest to tactile stimulation was calculated.
As a result, it was found that in all four types of materials, the tummy side was more responsive to tactile stimuli than the back side, and the tummy side felt more comfortable.It was also found that the softer material is more comfortable for the baby because the blood flow in the brain is higher with the softer material.
This research was applied to the development and verification of "Natural Mooney Man", "Moony Man Airfit", and "Oyasumi Man".
* NIRS is an abbreviation for Near-infrared Spectroscopy.A method for measuring the amount of change in oxygenated hemoglobin in the bloodstream.
