Indicating Baby torticollis using child growth monitoring system

1 . A method, comprising:

receiving a set of images of a child in a bed, the images acquired during a given period of time;

classifying from the set of images a respective set of head postures of the child;

using the classified set of head postures, estimating a head posture score of the baby; and

in response to the head posture score exceeding a predetermined threshold, indicating a potentially abnormal child development issue and taking an action upon the indication.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein classifying a head posture of the child comprises the steps of:

processing one or more images in order to identify child body and head parts in the images;

extracting body features from the one or more images;

using the extracted body features, classifying a body posture;

extracting head features from the one or more images; and

using the classified body posture and the extracted head features, classifying a head posture.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein using the classified body posture comprises classifying body postures into one of six labeled classes of “back,” “belly,” “crawling,” “side,” “standing,” and “sitting,” and omitting from head posture classification head postures related to body postures of “side,” and “standing,” and “sitting.”

4 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein classifying the head posture comprises classifying head postures into one of three labeled classes of “left,” “straight,” “and “right.”

5 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein classifying body posture and head posture comprises using a machine learning (ML) model that was trained using images of children in beds.

6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein using a ML model to classify body posture comprises using one of action recognition network (ARN) class and a classification network type of artificial neural networks (ANN).

7 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein using a ML model to classify head posture comprises using one of a multilayer perceptron (MLP) class and a convolutional neural network (CNN) class of artificial neural networks (ANN).

8 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein extracting body features comprises providing heatmaps of body joints.

9 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein extracting head features comprises providing heatmaps comprising at least the nose, eyes and ears.

10 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein extracting body features comprises extracting skeletal features.

11 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein extracting head features comprises extracting at least one of facial features and features located at head circumference.

12 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the child is one of an infant and a toddler, and the bed is a crib.

13 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein indicating of potentially abnormal child development issue comprises indicating potential Torticollis.

14 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein taking an action upon the indicated potentially abnormal child development issue comprises sending an alert to a physician.

15 . The method according to claim 1 , and comprising classifying from images a pattern of movement of the baby, generating a movement score, comparing the movement score to a threshold, and indicating a potentially abnormal child development issue based on the comparison.

16 . The method according to claim 15 , wherein indicating a potentially abnormal child development issue using a movement score comprises indicating potential Torticollis.

17 . The method according to claim 1 , and comprising, in response to the head posture score, changing the period of time into a new period, classifying head posture based on images acquired only during the new period of time, and re-estimating accordingly the head posture score of the baby.

18 . A system, comprising:

a camera configured to acquire images of a child in a bed; and

a processor, which is configured to:

receive a set of images of the child in the bed, the images acquired during a given period of time;

classify from the set of images a respective set of head postures of the child;

using the classified set of head postures, estimate a head posture score of the baby; and

in response to the head posture score exceeding a predetermined threshold, indicate a potentially abnormal child development issue and taking an action upon the indication.

19 . The system according to claim 18 , wherein the processor is configured to classify a head posture of the child by performing at least the steps of:

processing one or more images in order to identify child body and head parts in the images;

extracting body features from the one or more images;

using the extracted body features, classifying a body posture;

extracting head features from the one or more images; and

using the classified body posture and the extracted head features, classifying a head posture.

20 . The system according to claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to use the classified body posture by classifying body postures into one of six labeled classes of “back,” “belly,” “crawling,” “side,” “standing,” and “sitting,” and omitting from head posture classification head postures related to body postures of “side,” and “standing,” and “sitting.”

21 . The system according to claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to classify the head posture by classifying head postures into one of three labeled classes of “left,” “straight,” “and “right.”

22 . The system according to claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to classify body posture and head posture by using a machine learning (ML) model that was trained using images of children in beds.

23 . The system according to claim 22 , wherein the processor is configured to use a ML model to classify body posture by using one of action recognition network (ARN) class and a classification network type of artificial neural networks (ANN).

24 . The system according to claim 22 , wherein the processor is configured to use a ML model to classify head posture by using one of a multilayer perceptron (MLP) class and a convolutional neural network (CNN) class of artificial neural networks (ANN).

25 . The system according to claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to extract body features by providing heatmaps of body joints.

26 . The system according to claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to extract head features by providing heatmaps comprising at least the nose, eyes and ears.

27 . The system according to claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to extract body features by extracting skeletal features.

28 . The system according to claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to extract head features by extracting at least one of facial features and features located at head circumference.

29 . The system according to claim 18 , wherein the child is one of an infant and a toddler, and the bed is a crib.

30 . The system according to claim 18 , wherein the processor is configured to indicate of potentially abnormal child development issue by indicating potential Torticollis.

31 . The system according to claim 18 , wherein the processor is configured to take an action upon the indicated potentially abnormal child development issue by sending an alert to a physician.

32 . The system according to claim 18 , wherein the processor is further configured to classify from images a pattern of movement of the baby, generate a movement score, compare the movement score to a threshold, and indicate a potentially abnormal child development issue based on the comparison.

33 . The system according to claim 32 , wherein the processor is configured to indicate a potentially abnormal child development issue using a movement score by indicating potential Torticollis.

34 . The system according to claim 18 , wherein the processor is further configured to, in response to the head posture score, change the period of time into a new period, classify head posture based on images acquired only during the new period of time, and re-estimate accordingly the head posture score of the baby.