Development of uterine contraction monitoring system for resource-limited settings

A need assessment exercise at various resource-limited hospitals in Ghana revealed that a conventional method of monitoring uterine contractions is employed. This method is time consuming and ineffective with a likelihood of misrepresenting data on uterine contractions. There is therefore a need for a system that can potentially overcome the identified challenges. In this paper, the authors present the proof of concept for development of an automated uterine contraction monitoring system designed for use in resource-limited settings. Following the engineering design process, data were gathered to draft product specifications. Various concepts were evaluated and a mathematical model of chosen concept was built and simulated. A functional prototype was constructed to test the system's ability to measure the frequency and average duration of muscle contractions over a specified interval. The results indicate the capability of the chosen concept to meet design specifications. The design can also be enhanced to provide the intensity of contractions.