Self-Contained Uterine Contraction Monitor for Low-Resource Clinical Settings

Midwives in developing nations monitor 71 million births annually. However, despite the presence of a midwife, roughly 800 women die each day from pregnancy complications that are avoidable through proper monitoring of labor progression. Currently, the write out recommends midwives in rural clinics monitor the progression of labor using a partograph, which is a tool that tracks 14 labor parameters. Uterine contraction data is one of the most important partograph parameters, but is monitored incorrectly 88 percent of the time due to the lengthy and difficult process of monitoring by hand. The lack of proper contraction monitoring leads to undetected complications, including prolonged or obstructed labor and severe bleeding. To address this clinical need, we have developed TocoTrack, which is a uterine contraction monitor designed for developing countries. Through automation of the process, TocoTrack will enable more midwives to properly track the progression of labor and make accurate diagnoses, having a widespread impact on maternal and newborn health.