Infants on the Move: Bibliometric Analyses of Observational versus Digital Means of Screening Infant Development

Datasets, High Resolution Images and Video tutorials for Bibliometric use on neonatal General Movements Assessment

Neurodevelopmental disorder diagnoses have increased significantly over the years, though the average age of detection is 4.5 years old. This delay is partly due to reliance on social-communication criteria. These criteria require a level of maturation that takes much longer than scaffolding elements of neuromotor control. Early components of neurodevelopment include early evolution of reflexes, development of interactions between central pattern generators and cortical structures, maturation of intentional movements and their overall sensation. Such elements have been studied in General Movement Assessment (GMA) using observational means, but the last two decades have seen a surge in digital tools (biosensors, video-based pose estimation and algorithms) that permit non-invasive tracking of newborns’ movements. Despite their importance, these tools are not yet broadly used. In this work, using CiteSpace, VOSViewer and SciMAT software, we investigate the evolution of the literature on GMA and the methods in use today, to estimate how digital techniques are being adopted. To that end, we created maps of key word co-occurrence networks, co-author networks, document co-citation analysis and strategic diagrams of 295 publications based on a search in the Web of Science, Dimensions and SCOPUS databases for: ‘general movement assessment’ OR ‘general movements assessment’. The nodes on the maps were categorized by size, cluster groups and year of publication. We found that the state-of-the-art methodology to diagnose neurodevelopmental disorders still relies heavily on observation. Several groups in classical GMA research have branched out to incorporate new techniques, but few groups have adopted digital means. We report on additional analyses of methods and biosensors usage and propose that combining traditional clinical observation criteria with digital means may allow earlier diagnoses and interventional therapies for infants.