The researchers created the device to assist healthcare staff in understanding how much pressure they are applying to the foetal head during labour, factors that can contribute to obstructed labour and poor birth outcomes.
The technology provides real-time data during vaginal examinations, potentially improving birth outcomes in low-resource regions.
When labour is not going as it should, clinicians can use a wide array of medical technologies to determine what is wrong. However, in low- and middle-income countries, these technologies and skilled staff who can use them are not always available.
The researchers behind this latest study reported that 98 per cent of stillbirths occur in such countries, reflecting the cost of this problem.
Obstructed labour, where the position or size of the foetus blocks its passage through the birth canal, is a major factor underlying this issue. Doctors can remedy this situation using various techniques, but they first...