Birth4Cast: Introducing healthcare technologies in obstetrics
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Birth4Cast - A digital twin of childbirth: Introducing healthcare technologies in obstetrics
IRAS ID
365161
Contact name
Rudy J A Lapeer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
The study that we are seeking approval for is part of a larger EPSRC funded project (UKRI821) of the same title. The research builds upon a computer-based virtual reality technology, called BirthView, that visualises the fetal and maternal anatomies and “calculates” the interactions between them that ultimately leads to the expulsion of the virtual fetus. The BirthView simulator exhibits the rotational cardinal movements that are observed during physiological childbirth. The aim of the project is to create a subject-specific version of BirthView, called Birth4Cast. This “digital twin” is expected to predict the outcome before the event and act upon it. For example, if the simulator discovers that a physiological birth may not be possible then the decision could be taken to perform a planned Caesarean Section (CS) rather than risking an emergency CS. To create such a digital twin, the relevant anatomical data of the pregnant subject with the in-situ fetus needs to be captured prior to birth. This will be accomplished by MR scanning a pregnant person shortly before the expected date of delivery.
The MRI study that we are seeking approval for will be conducted at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (STH). Volunteers will be recruited for MRI scans of the lower pelvic area, the pelvic floor muscles and the fetal head, in the later stages of pregnancy (~36 weeks of gestation). The MR images will be fully anonymised after collection and given a research ID. The fully anonymised images will then be used by a team of computer scientists at the University of East Anglia and engineers at the University of Sheffield, to create the Birht4Cast subject-specific simulator. Clinical data from the actual birth will be collected by a research nurse (RN), appointed specifically for the project, and Dr Elspeth Whitby (Consultant Radiologist) at STH.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/YH/0051
Date of REC Opinion
26 Feb 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion