A Device For Developing Countries To Stop Postpartum Hemorrhaging

Lead Author Major

Bioengineering

Format

SOECS Senior Project Demonstration

Faculty Mentor Name

Shelly Gulati

Faculty Mentor Department

Bioengineering

Abstract/Artist Statement

Postpartum Hemorrhaging, also known as PPH, is the excessive bleeding of a woman’s womb after giving birth. Taking the lives of over 100,000 women a year and rising, PPH is one of the top three causes of maternal death in developing countries (such as in Sub-Saharan Africa), with the most common cause of PPH being uterine atony, the failure of the uterine muscle to contract. Although there are several current methods to stop PPH, none are suitable for developing countries. This is due to insufficient and expensive supplies, inadequate storage of these supplies, or complicated and/or overly invasive procedures. We are designing a device that will use electrical impulses that will stimulate the uterine muscle to contract, thus causing blood to clot and effectively stop the bleeding. The device is intended to be used in developing countries such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa and will function without the need of running electricity. The device consists of three major components: the charging system, the energy storage system, and the electrical stimulator. The charging system will utilize a solar panel and a hand crank generator to charge up the device. The energy produced by the charging system will be held in the energy storage component. For this, we take a sustainable approach, using supercapacitors to reduce the dependence of batteries in the device. The final component of the device will be an electrical stimulator that will output electrical impulses to the uterine muscle to cause contraction.

Location

School of Engineering & Computer Science

Start Date

27-4-2013 2:00 PM

End Date

27-4-2013 3:30 PM

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Apr 27th, 2:00 PM Apr 27th, 3:30 PM

A Device For Developing Countries To Stop Postpartum Hemorrhaging

School of Engineering & Computer Science

Postpartum Hemorrhaging, also known as PPH, is the excessive bleeding of a woman’s womb after giving birth. Taking the lives of over 100,000 women a year and rising, PPH is one of the top three causes of maternal death in developing countries (such as in Sub-Saharan Africa), with the most common cause of PPH being uterine atony, the failure of the uterine muscle to contract. Although there are several current methods to stop PPH, none are suitable for developing countries. This is due to insufficient and expensive supplies, inadequate storage of these supplies, or complicated and/or overly invasive procedures. We are designing a device that will use electrical impulses that will stimulate the uterine muscle to contract, thus causing blood to clot and effectively stop the bleeding. The device is intended to be used in developing countries such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa and will function without the need of running electricity. The device consists of three major components: the charging system, the energy storage system, and the electrical stimulator. The charging system will utilize a solar panel and a hand crank generator to charge up the device. The energy produced by the charging system will be held in the energy storage component. For this, we take a sustainable approach, using supercapacitors to reduce the dependence of batteries in the device. The final component of the device will be an electrical stimulator that will output electrical impulses to the uterine muscle to cause contraction.