How infant sleep position and product use affect breathing and sudden infant death risk
Official title: Quantifying the effect of biomechanical SUID risk factors on infant respiration
Funded at Boise State University · NIH-11312736 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how babies’ positions and interactions with infant products can change their breathing and the risk of sudden unexpected infant death for infants under 1 year.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boise State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boise, United States) |
| Project start | July 3, 2024 |
| Project end | April 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $573,021 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD113921-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11312736 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Infants aged about 1–12 months who are healthy enough for brief, noninvasive breathing measurements, with a caregiver able to bring them to the Boise research site.
✕Less likely to help
Infants outside the 1–12 month high-risk age range, those with urgent medical conditions, or families unable to travel to Boise may not receive direct benefit from participating.
What this research studies
If you join, your baby will take part in safe, noninvasive tests that measure breathing and chest movement while placed in common sleep positions or near typical infant products. The research team will also build computer models to simulate how those positions and product interactions could affect breathing in situations they cannot safely reproduce with real infants. Experts in infant biomechanics, pediatric lung health, product design, and child development will work together to interpret the results. The aim is to produce clear, evidence-based advice for parents and manufacturers to make infant sleep safer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could help reduce unexpected infant deaths by creating clear, science-backed guidance and safer infant product designs.
How similar studies have gone: Most prior work relies on retrospective fatality reports, so directly measuring how biomechanics affect infant breathing is fairly novel and largely untested.
Where this research is happening
-
Boise State University
Boise, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mannen, Erin — Boise State University
- Study coordinator: Mannen, Erin
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.