VACURE
A device to extract the entire contents of the pregnancy without penetrating the uterus, using a VAC device widely used in wound care – minimum suffering and maximum efficiency
About 30% of all pregnancies and 10% of clinical pregnancies (in which a fetal heartbeat has already been observed) end in pregnancy loss.
Most miscarriages and abortions occur in the first weeks of pregnancy. The treatment of women after a pregnancy loss has not changed in at least the last 180 years and is broadly divided into drug treatment or curettage.
Curettage is an invasive procedure that is usually performed under general anesthesia, with considerable risk of significant bleeding, infection, irreversible damage to the uterus, and infertility. Drug treatment, with a failure rate of about 15%, may take up to several weeks and also involves physical and mental suffering.
Every day gynecologists see women who experience miscarriages or undergo abortions. The great distress these women experience is what brought forth the idea for a new method that reduces the duration of the procedure, while minimizing the suffering and the risks of the above negative consequences.
Inventors
Contact info
Avital Pritz, Director of Medical Devices and Digital Health
For further information please contact:
avital@mor-research.comThe idea is to develop a non-invasive device that does not penetrate the uterus and still extracts the entire contents of the pregnancy with minimum suffering and maximum efficiency.
The auxiliary device designated for this purpose is based on the VAC device (Negative Pressure Wound Therapy) which is widely used in wound care. The device is inserted by a gynecologist into the vagina, and attached to the cervix from where it suctions the contents from the uterus by using negative pressure, without invasive entry into the cervix and into the uterus.
Women will be admitted to a hospital as outpatients and will undergo a quick treatment (a few hours) that will help them empty uterine contents with minimal complications and pain, without endangering their fertility, etc.
Drug treatment may also be necessary (such as Mifepristone or Misoprostol) as an aid to opening the cervix.
In addition, this device will also help women after vaginal delivery who may have bleeding due to placental remnants or blood clots in the uterus. It will allow them to avoid undergoing revision of the uterus in an operating room, which requires general anesthesia and entails many associated risks.
This method will:
Improve patient safety and reduce complications during the procedure. The amount of bleeding and the hemodynamic status of the patient can be monitored in real time.
Prevent future complications - infection, fertility problems, Asherman syndrome, damage to the endometrium, etc.
Shorten treatment time compared to drug treatments.
Reduce the pain and improve the well-being of the patient.
Significantly reduce costs compared to curettage - saving time and operating room costs.
A multi center clinical study is in progress.