Odon Device Inspired by Cork Screw: May Replace old Methods for Birth Obstruction (Video)

Thanks to an Argentinian car mechanic, a new device could be available to help during delivery complications. Jorge Odon, 59, worked to create a tool that's much safer and easier to use during difficult deliveries, and unlike forceps or C-sections, can be used in hospital and home settings.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), they are currently testing the device that works by pulling the child through the birth canal. Odon said that the idea first came to him after watching a YouTube video when a person removed a cork from a wine bottle using a plastic bag.

"The Odon Device... promises to transfer life-saving capacity to rural health posts, which almost never have the facilities and staff to perform a C-section," Dr. Margaret Chan, the Director-General of WHO, stated in a press release. "If approved, the Odon device will be the first simple new tool for assisted delivery since forceps and vacuum extractors were introduced centuries ago."

By using a polyethylene sleeve that's fixed around the baby's head, this birthing tool works to safely pull the child from the birth canal when complications may arise.

The Odon Device is currently being tested in Argentina and rural parts of South Africa in order to help establish whether or not the device could act as a safe and dependable aid for midwives and professionals in the medical field.

If this tool is approved, it will be the first device to be used since the development of forceps. It works by placing a plastic "bell" on the baby's head before sliding a polyethylene sleeve along the birth canal that goes around the skull. With a small amount of air that's pumped into the sleeve to secure the child's head, the midwife or medical provider removes the plastic inserter in order to safely deliver the baby. To make this process easier, the sleeve used is also lubricated.

As the tool may potentially minimize the baby's head and birth canal, it may also be able to reduce cases of infections during delivery.

The New York Times reports that the device will be manufactured by Becton, Dickinson and Company, a medical device company headquartered in New Jersey.

Want to see the device in action? Check out this video, courtesy of YouTube.