# Custom Accessories for Breastfeeding Success

> **NIH NIH R41** · CBEZ, LLC · 2024 · $373,877

## Abstract

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is widely recommended by the medical community. Breastfed
infants have lower risk of SIDS, severe lower respiratory disease, ear and gastrointestinal infections, leukemia,
and diabetes than infants fed formula. Breastfeeding mothers benefit from reduced risk of cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, and ovarian, breast, and endometrial cancer. Despite these benefits, only one in four infants
is exclusively breastfed at six months due, in part, to lactation and human milk-pumping challenges. Many
bottles, pacifiers, nipple shields, and pump parts (“Infant Feeding Accessories,” (IFA)) are marketed, but none
are customized to the breastfeeding parent’s actual anatomy. The American Academy of Pediatrics and World
Health Organization advise avoidance of artificial nipples for breastfed babies; however, these products are
commonly used, and early avoidance of them can lead to increased stress for parents struggling to establish
breastfeeding, and to bottle refusal by breastfed infants. The creation of IFAs customized to the lactating
parent's anatomy, as contemplated in U.S. Patent No. 10,449,121 B2 and U.S. Patent Application No.
17/954,324,7 (“Customized Accessories” (CA)), could improve the fit of IFAs, improve milk flow, decrease pain
for the lactating parent, eliminate nipple confusion, prolong breastfeeding, and support transition to direct
breastfeeding for preterm infants. In Phase I of this project, UC Davis, in conjunction with CBEZ, LLC, will
conduct foundational research to: (1) Characterize the critical design features of the CA and their related
mobile health (mHealth) platform that would make them acceptable and feasible for lactating parents and their
infants to use; and (2) Develop a preliminary catalog of prototype customized nipples and a process by which a
scan or photos of a lactating parent’s nipple, areola, and surrounding breast tissue (“Nipple Image”) is matched
with the most similar customized nipple in the catalog. The project will be managed by a CBEZ, LLC, a small
business that consists of an engineer with more than 37 years of experience leading multi-disciplinary research
projects; a patented inventor who is the inventor of U.S. Patent No. 10,449,121 B2; a project management
consultant with experience managing multidisciplinary web user interface projects; and a team of machine
learning specialists. UC Davis’ team consists of Dr. Laura Kair, a pediatrician who conducts clinical trials and
qualitative research focused on overcoming breastfeeding barriers; Dr. Melissa Chen, an obstetrician/
gynecologist and clinical researcher who has expertise in conducting clinical research among breastfeeding
women; and Steven Lucero, a biomedical engineer who is the Laboratory Manager of the Translating
Engineering Advances to Medicine Lab, an advanced prototyping lab specializing in 3D scanning and additive
manufacturing that includes anatomical models. After the successful completion of this...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10920319
- **Project number:** 1R41HD115477-01
- **Recipient organization:** CBEZ, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Laura R Kair
- **Activity code:** R41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $373,877
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-04-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10920319

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10920319, Custom Accessories for Breastfeeding Success (1R41HD115477-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10920319. Licensed CC0.

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