A breast pump having an areola stimulation assembly is provided. The breast pump may include a breast cup. The breast pump may also include a vacuum component that connects to the breast cup. Additionally, the breast pump may include an areola stimulation assembly, contained within the breast pump, that comprises an upper plate; a lower plate; and a mechanism that moves the lower plate with respect to the upper plate.

A sensor system is for sensing the start of milk expression into a collection vessel when using a breast pump device. An optical sensor is used to provide a signal indicating the presence of the first milk expressed, for use in controlling the breast pump to switch from a stimulation mode to an expression mode.

A breast pump device is provided and a controller for operating a pressure source of the breast pump device. A milk flow is monitored during a breast pumping session. The pressure source is controlled in dependence on the flow, thereby to switch, the breast pumping, between a first pressure profile of the pressure source for a low energy mode and a second pressure profile of the pressure source for an expression mode. The breast pumping session comprises a plurality of time periods with the low energy mode and a plurality of time periods with the expression mode, in order to reduce electrical power consumption.

An electrical breast pump (10) comprising a vacuum source (100) having a vacuum pump (120) with an electrical motor (121) and an aerate valve (150) is provided. Furthermore, a controller (110) controls an operation of the vacuum (120) and the aerate valve (150). Each pumping cycle comprises a pumping period (PP) of the vacuum pump (120) and an aerate period (AP) during which the aerate valve (150) is switched on and the vacuum pump (120) is in active and the electrical motor (120) is switched off. A drive circuit supplies a motor supply voltage for the electrical motor (121) under the control of the controller (110). The drive circuit (140) detects an electromotive force induced voltage at the electrical motor (121) when the motor supply voltage is switched off. The controller adapts the control of the operation of the vacuum pump (120) based on the detected induced voltage.

A system for synchronizing one or more breast-pumping sessions of an individual (such as a mother) and milk consumption by a second individual (such as a baby or infant) is described. In particular, based on measurements of a volume of the collected milk as a function of time and received information specifying milk consumption by the second individual as a function of time, a control circuit may determine a need for milk. Then, the control circuit may provide feedback based on the determined need for milk that synchronizes the one or more breast-pumping sessions and the milk consumption. For example, the feedback may alert the individual to initiate a breast-pumping session and/or may provide a signal to a breast pump that initiates a breast-pumping session.

A method for facilitating milk extraction from a female breast may involve applying a breast contacting portion of a breast pump system to a breast, activating the breast pump system to administer multiple breast pumping cycles, and applying vibrations to the breast during at least a portion of each of the breast pumping cycles, using a vibration device. A vibration generating device may be a component of a breast pump system, an added attachment on a breast pump system or a separate component that works in conjunction with a breast pump system.

A system includes a breast shield configured to mount to a breast during a breast milk letdown process. The breast shield includes one or more sensors integrally mounted thereon. The system also includes an analyzer configured to collect and analyze data obtained by the one or more sensors to extract information reflecting a condition of the breast.

A breast pump (100) is provided comprising a vacuum pump (120) which is configured to be operated at different vacuum profile settings, a controller (140) configured to control an operation of the vacuum pump (120) based on the different vacuum profile settings, and a breast fullness estimator (150) configured to estimate a fullness of a breast based on a duration of a milk expression session. The controller (140) is configured to select a vacuum profile setting based on the breast fullness estimation of the breast fullness estimator (150). Hence, the efficiency of the breast pump is increased as the operation of the vacuum pump is adapted to the estimated breast fullness.

The invention relates to an electrical breast pump (12) comprising a breast cover (2) having a breast funnel (3) for at least partially receiving the breast, a pumping device (7) having a motor (8) and preferably one energy accumulator (10), and a milk storage unit (4) with having a milk container (5) for receiving the pumped milk, wherein, in a standing position of the electrical breast pump (1) on a surface (10), the breast cover (2) and the pumping device (7) lie substantially within a virtual general straight cylinder, wherein the base area thereof corresponds to the area—extended by a factor of 2.5, preferably by a factor of 2.0, particularly preferably by a factor of 1.8—of the greatest largest cross-section of the milk storage unit (4) parallel to the surface (10), wherein the area centroid of the base area is identical to the area centroid of the area of the greatest largest cross-section, and the height of the virtual general straight cylinder is continuous in both directions.

An electric breast pump 1 includes a breast placement part 12 in which a breast part including a breast and a nipple of a subject is placed and suction-pressure generating units 10 and 50 that generate a suction pressure in the breast placement part. The suction-pressure generating unit generates a suction cycle including a plurality of sucking operations. The suction cycle includes basic suction and increased suction with an increased suction pressure. A suction pressure difference that increases in the increased suction is a pressure difference at a borderline at which a user perceives a change of a suction pressure. In the suction cycle, the basic suction and the increased suction are each repeated multiple times consecutively at an equal suction pressure. At least a last sucking operation in the suction cycle is extended suction having a longer suction time than those of other sucking operations.