Project HER: Hemorrhage Education Reimagined
In the Spring of 2020, I joined a biomedical engineering team tasked with developing a low-cost training model for postpartum hemorrhaging (PPH), a leading cause of maternal death worldwide.
After researching PPH extensively and speaking to physicians, we determined that our project would have the most impact if we focused on a training model for diagnosis of PPH through bimanual exam after vaginal delivery.
A bimanual exam would enable diagnosis of PPH, as a hemorrhaging uterus is not as firm as a healthy uterus, and physicians would be able to feel the texture post-delivery and act to address PPH before large volumes of blood are lost.
It was crucial the model be low cost, as PPH is most likely to be fatal in low-income countries and low-income areas of the US where fetal-maternal medical specialists are rare or nonexistent.
Over the past two years, we have developed multiple uteri, integrated them with a model body cavity so that a bimanual exam could be performed, and refined our prototypes with feedback from physicians.
In Spring 2022, we were recognized as semi-finalists in the 2022 Rice360 Undergraduate Global Health Technologies Design Competition.
Fig 1 : Fully Integrated Model
Fig 2: Components of Interior of Model
Fig 3: Final Uteri in Order of Least (Stage 0) to Most Severe (Stage 2) Hemorrhage
For this project, I was responsible for designing and 3D printing the molds for the vaginal canal. Multiple iterations were developed in SolidWorks to arrive at a size the physicians determined was accurate. The final molds can be seen below.
Fig 4: Exterior Mold
Fig 5: Interior Mold
Fig 6: Assembled Mold
