Obstetric vacuum extractor

• Main Authors: LUCY ANN SHELDON, ROSS WILLIAM WEIR, DANIEL PETERSON GODFREY, SAMUEL GEORGE
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 06.06.2012
• Subjects: DIAGNOSIS; HUMAN NECESSITIES; HYGIENE; IDENTIFICATION; MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; SURGERY

An obstetric vacuum extractor 20 comprises a cylinder communicating with a cup 26, and a handle 46 connected to a piston via an extensible bias element 52 to evacuate the cup 26. The bias element 52 permits relative movement between the handle 46 and the piston. The bias element 52 limits force transmitted to the piston, and movement of the piston relative to the handle 46 operates an indicator to confirm that low pressure has been maintained within the cup 26. The cup 26 may comprise inner and outer sections, with the outer section being reconfigurable, by applying distal force to a proximal side of the cup, from a convex insertion state for insertion into a mother's birth canal into a concave engagement state for engagement with a baby's head 122. A boundary between the sections is shaped such that the inner section may be concave while the outer section is convex, to create an inner suction cup.