BAMBI’s patented connector. Credit score: Politecnico di Milano
A doubtlessly life-saving machine has been developed for brand spanking new moms in high-risk settings. This low-cost medical machine to cease postpartum hemorrhages is the results of the BAMBI (Balloon Towards Maternal BleedIng) mission performed by a multidisciplinary analysis workforce on the Politecnico di Milano. It’s now prepared for the ultimate part of testing, specifically medical trials on sufferers.
The mission’s concept was put ahead by Alberto Zanini, a gynecologist and former head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit on the Sacra Famiglia Hospital in Erba. Throughout his volunteer work as a health care provider in numerous African and South-East Asian nations with a excessive maternal mortality charge, he noticed first-hand how severe and widespread the issue is. He subsequently contacted the Politecnico di Milano to place his instinct into apply. A multidisciplinary workforce of professors and researchers from the Giulio Natta Division of Chemistry, Supplies and Chemical Engineering, the Division of Mechanics, and the Design Division (which was concerned within the preliminary part solely) labored on the mission.
“With BAMBI, we want to show that it is possible to combine technological innovation with a social impact. Our goal is to offer a concrete, affordable and safe solution to stop postpartum hemorrhaging. We aim to make this device available wherever it is needed, even in the most vulnerable situations, by using an essential, accessibility-oriented engineering approach and a ‘social’ patent. In fact, all the researchers involved decided to waive any rights to the patent, in order for it to have the most possible widespread availability,” explains Maria Laura Costantino, scientific coordinator of the BAMBI mission and a Professor within the Division of Chemistry, Supplies and Chemical Engineering.
“The multidisciplinary approach we took when designing the device made it possible to identify and experimentally test all the requirements needed to develop an effective and affordable solution,” says Serena Graziosi, a Professor within the Division of Mechanical Engineering.
The BAMBI package together with a connector, a rectal probe, a probe cowl and a bag of saline answer fitted with a clamp. Credit score: Politecnico di Milano
The connector inabling BAMBI package’s meeting. Credit score: Politecnico di Milano
BAMBI is an efficient engineering answer that’s easy and fast to use, however most significantly, it’s reasonably priced. The prototype of the BAMBI machine consists of a package with parts which might be out there in low-resource contexts, built-in with an revolutionary patented connector that ensures the protection and meeting of the system, making it simple to make use of and mechanically environment friendly. The package features a rectal probe, probe cowl and bag of saline answer fitted with a clamp.
Within the occasion of a uterine hemorrhage following supply, the probe is inserted and positioned within the uterus. The probe cowl, which is hooked up to the probe by way of the connector, is inflated with saline answer, turning it right into a balloon that stops blood loss straight from the within.
The experimental marketing campaign for practical testing and value evaluation involving medical and nonmedical personnel confirmed that BAMBI is efficient by way of each procedural correctness and meeting time, even when utilized by non-expert personnel. That is a vital side. In areas by inadequate means and weak well being amenities, it might be not solely difficult, however typically even unattainable to search out specialised personnel. Nonetheless, with BAMBI’s intuitive operation (printed and video directions are included within the package), anybody can function it safely, saving lives.
BAMBI is now prepared for the shift from the laboratory to manufacturing by way of a name for patent improvement applications. The objective is to fabricate the connector, the important thing ingredient of the package, utilizing injection molding, so it may be mass produced at low price (estimated at about $5). It will enable the machine to be disseminated as extensively as potential world wide, particularly in resource-poor settings.
The analysis progress has additionally been documented by way of publications in journals, together with Scientific Stories.
Extra data:
Sara Candidori et al, A novel low-cost uterine balloon tamponade package to deal with maternal mortality in low-resource settings, Scientific Stories (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60064-z
Supplied by
Polytechnic College of Milan
Quotation:
Low-cost medical machine may also help cease postpartum hemorrhages (2025, September 22)
retrieved 23 September 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-09-medical-device-postpartum-hemorrhages.html
This doc is topic to copyright. Aside from any honest dealing for the aim of personal research or analysis, no
half could also be reproduced with out the written permission. The content material is offered for data functions solely.
