First important step towards the artificial mother for newborns

The ultimate goal of an artificial uterus is to give premature babies more time to mature. During the Dutch Design Week (DDW), the Máxima Medical Center (MMC), in collaboration with Next Nature Network, presents for the first time a mother artery of design. It is for the inspiration to lead to a first prototype. An artificial uterus replaces the incubator and artificial respiration. This is much more natural because it is closer to the circumstances of a real uterus .

"The ultimate goal is to help extremely premature infants with an artificial uterus during the critical 24 to 28 week period," say Guid Oei, a gynecologist and Hendrik Niemarkt, a neonatologist who both work at the MMC. The chances of survival of these babies are low; about half die at 24 weeks of gestation. And babies who survive often suffer from chronic diseases such as brain damage, breathing problems and / or retinal problems with the possibility of blindness.

"Every week, a 24-week-old fetus in an artificial uterus develops, probability of survival," says Oei. "If we can prolong the fetal growth of these children in the artificial uterus at 28 weeks, the greatest risk of premature death is reduced to 15%," says Niemarkt.

Comparison with the fetus of sheep

Research on lambs conducted by researchers from United States of a year and a half ago showed that immature sheep fetuses continued to grow up to # 39 to one month in a hot plastic bag filled with amniotic fluid that functioned as an artificial uterus . As a result, their organs, including their lungs, were mature enough to continue to live independently.

Expert Meeting – Social Debate

During the DDW, we can see the conception of the artistic mother in the center of innovation during the exhibition "Chronic Health" as part of the 39, Embassy of Health. There will also be an inspirational session for the general public, where a social debate will be held on all developments and future consequences related to the arrival of an artificial uterus, the design of which will serve as inspiration.

Research on the first prototype of artificial uterus

The results of the session of inspiration mark the beginning of the scientific research with a European consortium. "The goal of this research is to come up with a first artificial mother prototype, which is expected to be completed in a few years," said Guid Oei. MMC is the initiator in cooperation with the Eindhoven University of Technology and several other hospitals in Europe: Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands

Embassy of the health

The Embassy of Health is a collaboration of De Waag, VanBerlo, Philips, Dutch Design Foundation, U CREATE and Máxima Medical Center. They stimulate creative and disruptive thinking about the future of health care. The Embassy's program aims to educate citizens, patients, health professionals, policy makers and other stakeholders about the role and importance of design in the development of interventions. innovative in the field of health.

Source: Máxima Medical Center (MMC)