Most first-time mums focus on their baby’s arrival. But for Alexandra Loftus, giving birth at Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) was also a chance to give back – by joining a clinical trial of a new device that monitors babies’ oxygen levels during labour. Breakthrough technology could prove a ‘revolution’ for safer childbirth
“I thought it was a wonderful opportunity for little Poppy to come into the world being part of something bigger,” says Alexandra. “The fact that this device will do more and is much less invasive [than current monitoring] is huge.” Traditionally, babies’ heart rates have been monitored during labour via cardiotocography (CTG), which involves placing a belt with two monitors around the mother’s abdomen.
“The technology has been around for decades, but the problem is it has very little sensitivity and specificity in telling us if the baby is okay or not,” says RNSH Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Dr Sean Seeho. Another method for assessing a baby’s wellbeing during labour is measuring lactate levels – a chemical produced when oxygen is scarce – which Sean called the “gold standard.” The test involves taking a drop of blood from the baby’s head using a device known as an amnioscope. “Basically you do a little nick with a small scalpel on the baby’s head. Just like a diabetic test, instead of measuring sugar, we measure lactate,” he says. However, lactate tests only provide a snapshot of the baby’s condition at the time of sampling and can be an uncomfortable procedure for the mother. The new device, however, is far more efficient. Building on technology known as a fetal scalp electrode (FSE), a small spiral sensor which is attached to some babies’ scalps during labour to measure heart rate, the new device has incorporated a microneedle that detects lactate levels. Shaped like a corkscrew, the sensor gives off an electrical signal when lactate is present. “It doesn’t bleed the baby,” says Sean. The lactate data is then transmitted through a wire to a device worn on the mother’s leg, which then relays the information via Bluetooth to a central monitor.
Alexandra Loftus and Poppy.
20 Tomorrow’s medicine today
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