
Researchers at two Canadian universities are creating an electro-mechanical replication of a cervix during labor so that they can better understand the differences in the changes that occur during an unassisted delivery versus one that is induced.
The experts, who work in the fields of engineering, midwifery, and obstetrics at Ryerson and McMaster University, hope to use that experience to help develop a training simulator that students and researchers can use to examine the typical changes that occur in a cervix during labor. The researchers hope the system can also be used to practice the induction of labor and multiple type of induction practices.
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One tool used to induce labor is the Foley catheter. The process involving the catheter starts when a balloon is inserted into the cervix and into the uterus. Medical professionals then fill that balloon with saline to enhance the descending pressure on the top of the cervix, which simulates the pressure caused by a baby’s head. The simulation essentially tricks the body into opening the cervix.
Dr. James Andrew Smith, an engineering professor and researcher who was instrumental in the joint effort of McMaster and Ryerson, chose to create an improved version of the Foley catheter. To make the model he used the physical modeling and simulation tool MapleSim.
Smith’s model only replicates the quarter of the cervix. Each section in that replica features a multi-joint arm which responds to tractive force. The replication is a double sliding joint, double pin join, spring-loaded system. Once the system was created, Smith incorporated the MapleSim to analyze the dynamic and kinematic equations running the system. The information obtained using the MapleSim allowed Smith to research with the parameters of the cervix model.
When Smith compared the information from the MapleSim simulation with the experimental data, he was able to give his model the necessary specifications.
In addition to the aid it will provide to medical and midwifery students, the project will also eventually be used to create models that help comprehend the friction between the balloon and cervix. That information will be put into a MapleSim model to improve its consistency.