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A digital twin of childbirth: Introducing healthcare technologies in obstetrics
Participants
Prof. Beatriz de la Iglesia (CMP)
Prof. Paul Watton (U.Sheffield)
Dr. Elspeth Whitby (Sheffield University Hospitals),
Prof. Gerhard Holzapfel (Technical University Graz, Austria)
Summary
The aim of the project is to create a person-specific childbirth simulator, capable of predicting a childbirth outcome before the actual event. This will be accomplished by using the already developed BirthView childbirth simulator in conjunction with fetal MRI obtained shortly before the expected delivery to accurately reconstruct the feto-maternal anatomy. This “digital twin” of childbirth would then be capable of predicting potential adverse outcomes. For example, if the simulator were to predict that a physiological (natural) childbirth would not be possible then a decision could be made to perform a planned or “elective” Caesarean Section (CS) as a safer and less risky alternative to the emergency CS that would be required if a natural childbirth were to go ahead. Various additional parameters that the simulator needs, e.g. the material properties of the feto-maternal soft tissues, will be estimated using machine learning and explainable AI.
Funding
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Partners
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Publications
[1]Lapeer, R., Gerikhanov, Z., Sadulaev, SM. et al. "A computer-based simulation of childbirth using the partial Dirichlet–Neumann contact method with total Lagrangian explicit dynamics on the GPU." Biomech Model Mechanobiol 18, 681–700 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-018-01109-x
[2]Lapeer, R. J. and Prager, R. W. "Fetal head moulding: finite element analysis of a fetal skull subjected to uterine pressures during the first stage of labour." Journal of Biomechanics 34(9): 1125-1133 (2001). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002192900100070
[3]Lapeer R.J. and Prager R.W. "3D shape recovery of a newborn skull using thin-plate splines." Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics, 24(3)193-204 (2000). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0895611100000197