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Many premature babies enter the world with a mountain of challengesin front of them. Even after they overcome any life-threateningissues, they face ongoing, and typically unpleasant, medicalprocedures, long hospital stays and increased chances of chronichealth issues throughout their lives. To help address one of their biggest problems - learning how tosuck and feed - Florida State University has announced theavailability of the Pacifier Activated Lullaby (PAL) device tohospitals around the world. The innovative PAL device, which uses musical lullabies to helpinfants quickly learn the muscle movements needed to suck, andultimately feed, is being sold through a partnership with PowersDevice Technologies Inc. Research studies have shown that PAL canreduce the length of a premature infant's hospital stay by anaverage of five days. "Unlike full-term infants, very premature babies come into theworld lacking the neurologic ability to coordinate asuck/swallow/breathe response for oral feeding," said JayneStandley, Florida State's Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professorof Music Therapy and inventor of the PAL. "The longer it takes themto learn this essential skill, the further behind in the growthprocess they fall. PAL uses musical lullaby reinforcement to speedthis process up, helping them feed sooner and leave the hospitalsooner." PAL uses a specially wired pacifier and speaker to provide musicalreinforcement every time a baby sucks on it correctly. The musicallullabies are gentle and pleasant to the baby, making them want tocontinue the sucking motion so they can hear more of the lullaby. Clinical studies conducted by Standley at Tallahassee MemorialHospital (TMH), University of Georgia Hospital in Athens,University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill andWomen's and Children's Hospital in Baton Rouge, La., have shownthat infants will increase their sucking rates up to 2.5 times morethan infants not exposed to the musical reinforcement. "It's amazing to watch how much quicker our babies are able tolearn the sucking motion after they have used PAL," said TerryStevens, a neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) nurse at TMH. "Theyare ready to eat sooner, they go home from the hospital earlier,they tolerate their feedings better; it's just a phenomenalimprovement overall." In addition to helping premature babies learn to feed quicker, PALalso provides parents with a welcome chance to connect with theirbabies during this crucial stage of the development process. "PAL provides a chance for parents who have lost a lot of controlin the birth process to come in and work directly with their babyas they receive the music therapy," said Deborah Merritt, an NICUnurse at TMH. "They can begin to have that control back again, andreally be an active part of the recovery, healing and developmentof their little one." Originally envisioned by Standley more than a decade ago, PAL hasundergone extensive testing, received a U.S. patent and beenapproved by the Food and Drug Administration. Recognizing thesignificant health and economic benefits of PAL, Powers DeviceTechnologies obtained the distribution and marketing rights and haslaunched a worldwide sales initiative. "After years of research and clinical studies to prove howeffective this technology is at solving developmental issues inpreterm infants, we are thrilled to be working with Florida StateUniversity to bring PAL to market," said P. Kathleen Lovell,president and CEO of Powers Device Technologies. "PAL truly mergesscience and art to improve the lives of premature infants. It willmake a huge difference in the standard of medical care preemiesreceive in the NICU." As premature birth rates continue to rise (up 36 percent since the1980s), PAL demonstrates how the power of music is being harnessedto help premature infants overcome their developmental challenges. "Many of these babies undergo daily medical procedures that, whilenecessary, result in added stress , pain and anxiety for the infant," Standley said. "Using a device that actuallygives them comfort while they learn an essential life skill is avaluable complement to NICU care." Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Teflon Extrusion Machine Manufacturer , China Wire Taping Machine, and more. For more , please visit Wire Drawing Machine today!
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