By  Sola Ogundipe

TOWARDS addressing the high rates of preventable neonatal or newborn mortality rates in Nigeria, and the rest of Africa, the prototype of an innovative power-independent clinical device that monitors the heartbeat of a foetus while a woman is in labour has been unveiled.

The state-of-the-art, hand-cranked electronic device, known as the Wind-up Doppler Ultrasound Fetal Heart Rate Monitor, is being commercialised by the Philips Africa Innovation Hub, to address local needs.

At 528 deaths per day or 996 deaths per 100,000 live births according to the 2008 NDHS, Nigeria has one of the highes newborn mortality rates in the world.

Findings show that the measuring of foetal heart rate is an important indicator of foetal health and current methods to measure the foetal heart rate in most African settings are either too expensive, too inaccurate or rely on replaceable batteries or electricity to run.

Hence, the Wind-up Fetal Doppler is especially designed to empower midwives and delivering nurses to give better care.   It was gathered that many infants, especially in under-resourced settings die during labour or suffer brain injury due to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the baby during the hours that the mother is in labour.

Brain injury and prevention

Experts note that many of these deaths could be prevented and cases of brain injury avoided, using a Doppler ultrasound monitor that helps midwives and delivering nurses to monitor the baby’s wellbeing during labour.

“It is very hard to do an accurate measurement with a Pinard-stethoscope, because you need to be able to hear the fetal heart well and count the rate correctly. It is often also uncomfortable for the mother. A Doppler ultrasound fetal heart rate monitor is a good solution, but the current monitors on the market require mains or battery power, and are not robust enough,” said Anneke Jagau, a midwife.

PET has been working on the development of the hand cranked, Wind-up Fetal Doppler for many years, and they verified the positive impact of the device in tests in Uganda, where 60 percent more cases of abnormal fetal heart rate were detected in labor, compared to the standard Pinard-stethoscope.

“Philips which remains consistently committed to reducing child mortality and improving maternal health, linked to the MDGs 4 & 5, pledged commitment to improving the lives of 100 million women and children by 2025 targeting sub-Saharan Africa where high maternal and infant mortality can be addressed through early diagnosis and preventative care. PET has invested many years in the development of this important idea,” said Maarten van Herpen, Head, Philips Africa Innovation Hub, while Director PET, Dr Francois Bonnici, who is also Director, Bertha Centre for Social Innovation at the University of Cape Town, said the collaboration with Philips is based on the strong alignment on the mission to improve people’s lives with meaningful innovation.