An obstetric forceps contouring the head surface to improve gripping capability in delivery assistance

The requirement of safe child delivery is increasing in developed countries in these decades. We have developed an obstetric forceps contouring the infant's head surface with stiffness-controlled pads. The stiffness of the pad is controlled by using air pressure regulation based on jamming transition. The proposed forceps has two soft material pads facing to the infant's head. The proposed forceps is first thin to get safely inserted into the delivery cavity. The granular tetrapod particles are then injected into the pads to contour the infant's head surface. By vacuuming the inside air of the pads, the particles interlock each other and the pads move onto the solid-like phase. In the experiments, the proposed method worked effectively to decrease the pressure onto the infant's head during delivery assistance and consequently made the operation safer.