AmnioFix
Prenatal surgery is a factor for preterm delivery, since the amniotic sac is wounded.
The USZ/EPFL start-up Kove develops technology for secure pre-natal treatment and to reduce the risk of preterm birth. Our study evaluated possible solutions for closing the surgery wound on the amniotic sac and prototyped respective tools.
A fetoscopic surgical device for closure of the fetal membrane
In an interdisciplinary feasibility study conducted within the framework of the Design and Technology Lab at pdz, the team behind the AmnioFix project has a background in engineering from ETH and in industrial design from ZHdK. Our lead engineer supervised the team while the project partner from Kove laid the foundation for a fruitful project and University Hospital Zurich provided expert advice.
In cases where serious medical complications concerning the foetus arise during pregnancy, minimally invasive fetoscopic interventions can be required to help save lives. An unwanted side effect of such an intervention can however be a rupture of the fetal membrane, caused by the remaining hole of the fetoscopic intervention. Such a rupture can lead to premature birth.
The feasibility study focused on developing technology that addresses the issue of closing and stabilizing the membrane after an intervention, covering different closing approaches and the exact requirement on a closure. The big challenge is closing the fetal membrane from the inside. Currently no minimal invasive device includes a technique for this, which makes the team's solution all the more innovative.
AmnioFix closes the intervention-hole and stabilizes the fetal membrane. AmnioFix can be used one-handedly and provides the surgeon with precise feedback on the procedure via an intergrated display.
Drawing on established medical know-how and existing medical parts for increased scalability, the approach itself is novel to fetoscopy and presents a pioneering solution for fetal surgery and the mitigation of premature birth risk.
To reach this innovative solution, the team approached each step on the way with the open mindset that the Feasibility Lab lives and promotes. Initially, the focus of the project had a different solution in mind. By focusing on the critical function and by daring to try new ideas that were not always the easiest but turned out to be the most rewarding, the team managed to reach a different but much more adequate solution. The result is a prototype that is pioneering in its field.
Currently, first successful prototype tests have been conducted and Kove is taking development of AmnioFix further.
Read more about Kove's work on their external pagehomepage.
For more insight on ZHdK's work, visit their external pagehomepage.