BME.14 Second Stage of Labor Biofeedback Device
Team Members Heading link
- Rana Abbed
- Tamanna Dhore
- Sara Kishta
- Karen Rivas
- Chandhana Voleti
Project Description Heading link
The second stage of labor involves the delivery of an infant, and typically lasts two to three hours. However, when this stage is prolonged, it can lead to major complications involving both the patient and the child, such as hematoma and infection. Pregnant patients in the second stage of labor have often received epidurals, which decreases the sensation of pushing and requires a means to improve maternal pushing efforts. Additionally, an effective intrauterine pressure (greater than 50 mmHg) is needed for delivery of an infant. Currently, there are many commercially available devices that measure the strength and duration of contractions. However, they do not provide visual biofeedback for the patient to shorten the duration of labor. The goal of this project was to design a biofeedback device capable of visualizing the strength of contractions and maternal pushing efforts during the second stage of labor. We designed a device that includes the use of existing products such as: a Koala Intrauterine Pressure Catheter (IUPC), IPC-5014 Pressure Transducer Cable, and a GE Corometrics 250Cx Monitor. The IPC-5014 cable serves as an adapter to send the pressure signal from the IUPC to the monitor and our device. Our device reads the pressure signal and transmits it to a separate microcontroller that is attached to the patient to provide visual biofeedback for resting, mild, moderate, and strong intrauterine pressures in the range of 0-75 mmHg. Verification testing by methods of connecting our biofeedback device to a GE Corometrics 250Cx Monitor at UI Health has confirmed our device to be compatible and calibrated with currently available devices. Our device will be helpful for reducing the duration of the second stage of labor by informing the patient about how effective their pushing efforts are for delivering the infant.