Childbirth monitoring technology has barely changed since the 1960s

A wonderful feature from one of VitalTrace's clinical and commercial advisors, Vinayak Smith, on the role of innovative technologies to reduce the risk of litigation in obstetrics!

“Cardiotocography (CTG) has been used for foetal heartrate (FHR) surveillance since the 1970s, as a means of detecting foetal hypoxia and guiding clinical decisions around delivery timing.

Despite the length of its usage, there is yet to be convincing evidence that CTG reduces birth asphyxia, stillbirths, caesareans or instrumental deliveries.

Although the technology is good at providing reassurance when foetal heartrates are ‘normal’, it is less useful at working out the prognosis of ‘abnormal’ heartrates, explains Dr. Vinayak Smith, of Monash University and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

“It is not easy for two clinicians to agree or interpret the same CTG output the same way,” said Dr. Smith ahead of the Obstetric Malpractice Conference.

“Heartrates which look normal are easy to trust, whereas abnormal ones could mean anything. The CTG doesn’t tell us how worried we should be when a heartrate doesn’t look quite right.

“As a result, FHR red flags can be wrongfully dismissed by the clinician, leading to ‘preventable’ delivery complications or, in extreme cases, foetal deaths.

“Conversely, false alarms can lead to unnecessary clinical intervention and greater numbers of (precautionary) C-sections – a procedure which is risky for both mother and baby.”

Aside from the risk of healthcare complications, CTG reliability issues expose clinicians to legal culpability.

With 20 percent of obstetrics claims involving CTG – and obstetrics accounting for a significant proportion of medico legal disputes – it is widely agreed that better foetal monitoring solutions are needed.”

See the full article here.

From Prof. Jonathan Morris, VitalTrace - Chief Medical Officer

I had the wonderful opportunity to present VitalTrace’s pre-clinical data in the highly regarded Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine 2025 Pregnancy Meeting in Denver, Colorado. This is the premier pregnancy meeting in USA. Our abstract was one of the 104 selected for presentation out of more than 2,000 submitted speaking to the significance and magnitude of the accomplishments we have achieved.

SMFM was a great opportunity to connect with obstetricians allowing VitalTrace to build invaluable relationships with leading practitioners and forming alliances to prepare the company for future activity in the United States and beyond. There was very strong interest in DelivAssure from leaders in Boston, Washington, Texas, East Virginia, New York and Philadelphia amongst others.

Some particularly notable feedback:

From Dr Emily Reiff (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School),

“I was fascinated by your study of real-time fetal lactate monitoring and think that innovation like this is what is needed for effective intrapartum management.”
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From Dr Justin Lappen (Cleveland Clinic),

“The whole team thought that DelivAssure would assist with Class II CTG dilemmas.”

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It was reinvigorating to see such strong support for continuous lactate monitoring and reinforces our confidence to launch DelivAssure in the United States.

A breakthrough in childbirth care and a proud moment for the VitalTrace team. Our continuous lactate monitor for childbirth, DelivAssure, has been featured on a number of media platforms, including the ABC, as a potential breakthrough.

‍Full ABC News feature here
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A moment of thanks on the achievement of the recent clinical trials:

We want to especially thank our Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Morris, the tireless Sharon McCracken, and our long-time collaborator Jane Pillow, who have been integral to our progress.

Thank you to our Principal Investigators across our clinical trials: A/Professor Sean Seeho, Penny Sheehan, Daniel Rolnik and Scott White. We’re incredibly grateful to the clinical teams and hospitals who made these trials possible across Royal North Shore Hospital, Monash Health, King Edward Memorial Hospital and Box Hill Hospital - Eastern Health.

The mothers and babies who took part in our trials are also at the heart of our work. We are endlessly appreciative for their participation.

Also with thanks to our partners and supporters: The University of Western Australia, University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, Australian Government and Government of Western Australia's Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) and Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI), Fund WA and Artesian (Alternative Investments).

Most of all, a huge thank you to our entire VitalTrace team whose hard work and dedication everyday have lead to this outcome.