Body map image coding to support wearable design for skin-to-skin contact

AbstractPeople place tools on their bodies during daily activities that impact their health and safety. Mapping the locations of this equipment and evaluating the appropriateness of these locations can aid people to achieve their goals. This paper considers the location of equipment, life support systems such as ventilation tubing and intravenous lines, on the human body during kangaroo care in hospitals. Kangaroo care (KC) is skin-to-skin contact between infants and adult caregivers, which dramatically improves health outcomes for both. This research provides information useful for design to support safe KC in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Assessment of 100 images from a Google Image search conducted on May 19, 2021, using the search text ‘NICU kangaroo care tubes’ was undertaken. An expert NICU nurse verified that tube location followed best practices. This method documents human-body-tool interaction for improved safety and functioning across contexts.Keywords: Body mappingimage analysisuser-centered designwearable designkangaroo care Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by M® Global under the Sustainable Development Goals Initiative Rapid Response Grants Program 2020. Notes on contributorsCrystal ComptonCrystal Compton is a Senior Mechanical (Soft Systems/Textile) Engineer at Flex. She received her PhD from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities focusing on Wearable Technology, E-textiles, and Human Factors and Ergonomics.Abigail Clarke-SatherAbigail Clarke-Sather (she/her) is an Associate Professor Mechanical & Industrial Engineering department at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Dr. Clarke-Sather welcomes collaborations on real-world applications in smart wearables, engineering sustainable development, sustainability life cycle assessment and textile recycling through her research lab, the Applied Sustainable Product Innovation and Resilient Engineering (ASPIRE) Lab.Jessica L. RidgwayJessica L. Ridgway is an associate professor at Florida State University, in the Retail Entrepreneurship program in the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship. Her research interests include designing with technology, creative/textile print design, and functional designs for NICU environments and breastfeeding.Lindsay NaylorLindsay Naylor (she/her) is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography & Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware in the United States and is the co-facilitator of the Embodiment Lab. She works on the multi-sited ‘geo’ of geopolitics and examines how it is written across space, place, and bodies. She draws from frameworks in feminist geopolitics, decolonial philosophy, and diverse economies to ground action-oriented research. Dr. Naylor publishes on fair trade among other food and agriculture related topics and she is the author of the award winning book Fair Trade Rebels: Coffee Production and Struggles for Autonomy in Chiapas.