Video: An animatronic pelvis with an artificial baby鈥檚 head inside provides realism and feedback that help trainee medics learn how to perform forceps deliveries safely (Footage courtesy INSA Lyon, France).
A childbirth simulator developed in France can help junior obstetricians gain the equivalent of several years鈥� experience at forceps-assisted births in just a few days.
鈥榮 research team at , at INSA, Lyon, France, developed the 鈥淏irthSIM鈥� setup together with Olivier Dupuis at the Hospices Civils de Lyon and the Department of Computing Science at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.
BirthSIM is a life-size model of a mother鈥檚 pelvis, with a baby鈥檚 head hidden inside mounted on a pneumatic arm. During the simulation, the pneumatic arm pushes the baby鈥檚 head forward, mimicking the movements of childbirth (see video, right).
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Both the forceps and baby鈥檚 head have electromagnetic sensors that track their motions in 3D. The data is used to project a 3D model of the setup onto a screen, so the trainee can see exactly what is happening as they move the forceps inside the pelvis.
Instant expert
Learning to use forceps correctly is difficult, and poor technique can cause stress or pain to both mother and baby. BirthSIM gives students a safe test-bed on which to improve their forceps skills.
To guide students, a skilled obstetrician uses BirthSIM to record an ideal forceps 鈥渞eference gesture鈥�. This appears on the screen as a series of small spheres which the student will 鈥減op鈥� if they use the forceps in the right way.
BirthSIM can also give feedback on how much pressure a student is applying to the baby鈥檚 head. An earlier version of the device could give this feedback, but could neither track the position of the forceps nor mimic the birth movements of the baby鈥檚 head.
鈥淲e have been using a prototype to train obstetricians at the hospital in Lyon for a few years now,鈥� says Moreau. 鈥淒uring three 1-hour sessions students use the forceps as often as they would during a normal three-year obstetric residency.鈥�
Early results suggest students quickly improve their technique this way, says Moreau. Sessions on BirthSIM could complement the classical training that obstetricians receive, says Moreau.
Flight simulator
Patrick Mohide, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, says BirthSIM could become an important teaching aid, but thinks it could be improved.
鈥淭he ideal simulator would also measure the forces, pressures and directions of traction from using the forceps, and would simulate the effects on the foetus,鈥� he told 快猫短视频.
鈥淭hat might lead to the development of more standardised techniques and provide an objective approach to measuring and maintaining skills, just as aircraft simulators do.鈥�
The team is working on improvements, Moreau says. They only recently added the pneumatic arm that simulates some of the forces of childbirth. But recreating all the forces and movements that occur during birth is difficult because of the complexity of the procedure, he says.
Moreau鈥檚 team will present a at the in Pasadena, California, on 19-23 May
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