{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T10:50:32Z","timestamp":1791975032973,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,7]],"date-time":"2025-05-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1746576000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Preventing head deformity in the early postnatal period could avert positional plagiocephaly (PP). Accordingly, we developed a novel prophylactic device to prevent head deformity and examined its impact on the incidence of PP and prevention of severe PP at 3 months of age. Methods: The newly developed prophylactic device was used immediately after birth or at the 1-month checkup, and cranial shape was measured before device application and at 3 months of age. The diagnostic threshold for PP was &gt;5% for cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI); cranial asymmetry (CA) of \u226513 mm was deemed severe. A database comprising cranial geometry of 3-month-old healthy Japanese infants (n = 110) served as the control. Results: This study included 42 infants who started using the novel prophylactic device immediately after birth or at the 1-month checkup. Measurements at 3 months of age revealed that the prophylactic device group had significantly lower CA and CVAI than the control group (CA [median]: 5.5 vs. 8.0, respectively, p = 0.007; CVAI: 4.3 vs. 5.8, respectively, p = 0.048). However, the PP prevalence did not differ significantly between the two groups (41% vs. 57%, respectively, p = 0.094). The number of infants with severe PP was significantly lower in the prophylactic device group than in the control group (0% vs. 14%, respectively; p = 0.012). At 3 months of age, no significant differences in CA or CVAI were observed between the immediate postnatal and 1-month groups. Conclusions: The novel prophylactic device against head deformity could prevent severe PP.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14093261","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,7]],"date-time":"2025-05-07T11:46:19Z","timestamp":1746618379000},"page":"3261","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["A Novel Prophylactic Device Against Head Deformity to Prevent Severe Positional Plagiocephaly"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Yukari","family":"Tanaka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1, Oyaguchi, Kami-cho, Itabashi-ku 173-8610, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6657-6884","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hiroshi","family":"Miyabayashi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Kasukabe Medical Center, 6-7-1, Chuo, Kasukabe-shi 344-8588, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Takanori","family":"Noto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1, Oyaguchi, Kami-cho, Itabashi-ku 173-8610, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5936-1228","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Risa","family":"Kato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1, Oyaguchi, Kami-cho, Itabashi-ku 173-8610, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0890-1626","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nobuhiko","family":"Nagano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1, Oyaguchi, Kami-cho, Itabashi-ku 173-8610, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5685-2670","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ichiro","family":"Morioka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1, Oyaguchi, Kami-cho, Itabashi-ku 173-8610, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"46","article-title":"Positional plagiocephaly","volume":"165","author":"Christensen","year":"2002","journal-title":"Ugeskr. 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