In many countries, Vacuum-Assisted Delivery (VAD) is the most common technique for instrumental vaginal delivery. Current VAD devices require the formation of a typical chignon on the infant’s scalp to achieve the necessary traction forces. This chignon, a swelling on the infant’
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In many countries, Vacuum-Assisted Delivery (VAD) is the most common technique for instrumental vaginal delivery. Current VAD devices require the formation of a typical chignon on the infant’s scalp to achieve the necessary traction forces. This chignon, a swelling on the infant’s scalp, can lead to complications and, in severe cases, even death. This study addresses the question of how a new design for a VAD suction cup can reduce chignon formation while maintaining excellent adhesive performance. Three 3D-printed flexible suction cup designs with varying flexible lattice structures were designed to minimize chignon formation, and a bellow-shaped sealing lip was used to enhance the sealing performance. The performance of the novel designs are tested on an infant head surrogate and compared to a replica of the current commonly used Kiwi OmniCup®. Results indicated a significant reduction in scalp deformation, with the chignon volume ranging from 6.2% to 15.5% of that observed with the Kiwi replica. While the proposed suction cup designs show promise in reducing neonatal injuries by reducing the chignon formation, future work should focus on achieving a larger maximum traction force.
