"There's definitely an unmet need for this," Shireen Jaufuraully tells SciDev.Net.
"We're hoping that with the information that's transmitted by the glove, somebody sitting half way around the world would be able to look at that information and say 'well yes, I think it's exerted.'" Jaufuraully is the lead author of a study published in Frontiers in Global Women's Health on a $1 "smart glove" that doctors in low- and middle-income countries could soon use to help prevent stillbirths.
The glove uses nanocomposite sensors on the fingertips to detect the position of a fetus during labor and transmit the data to a smartphone app, which can then be used to determine the best way to deliver the baby, per a press release.
The sensors are made of metal-oxide nanocomposites, which generate an electric current when they touch or rub against something.
They are thin enough so as to not interfere with a doctor's sense of touch and a second surgical glove can be worn over the smart glove to keep things sterile.
In an emergency situation if you need to deliver a baby, and you are going to put forceps or a ventouse on that baby's head,
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