Apparatus for facilitating the birth of a child by centrifugal force (1963)

APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE BIRTH OF A CHILD BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE 4 Sheets-

1 Filed Jan. 15, 1965 INVENTORS 656/966 3 BLO/VSKY BY 0714410775 5.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, the numeral indicates generally a concrete floor slab of sutficient weight and strength to securely support the apparatus of this invention in its operations. Secured to the

10, as by anchor bolts 11, is the base plate 12 of the apparatus. The base plate may be made of heavy cast iron and has bolted thereto an anti-friction bearing 13 for the main

14, a motor 15, a controller 16, a speed reducer 17 and a

18. The motor shown is a vari-speed vertical gear motor which is controlled by the controller 16, and which is arranged to drive the main

14 at a closely controlled variable speed of revolution, through a motor sheave 19, the speed reducer 17 and a

20 secured to such shaft.

Bolted to the upper surface of

20 are two

25, arranged in spaced parallel relation on opposite sides of the

14 and on which are mounted in transverse relation the main I-

26, 26. The I-beams are likewise disposed on opposite sides of

14 and are balanced on the

25, 26, in spaced, parallel relation. Welded on the I-

26, 26 are a series of spaced, transverse,

27 on which is aflixed a

28 of elongated rectangular form and through the center of which extends the axis of the

14. Mounted on the

28 is a removable stretcher frame generally designated 24 and composed of a base plate 29 adapted to lie directly upon the

28, two transverse aluminum end I-

30, 30 and two longitudinally extending

31, 31 which are welded to the base plate 29 and to an

32 supported by such end beams and side channels. Attached to the outer and inner ends of the

32 are handles 33 by which the

24 may be manipulated when positioned on and removed from the apparatus.

The

24 extends from one end of

28, past the

14, and to a point beyond such shaft; the arrangement of the frame being such that the head of the woman lying on such frame overlies the upper end of

14 which is located in the region between the two

25, 25. Consequently, the head of a patient on the machine is positioned at or near the center of rotation of the

28. At its other end, the base plate 29/of the stretcher frame is provided with a pair of spaced

35 adapted to be passed through openings 36 in

28 and by then shifting the stretcher frame outwardly, to be brought into engagement with the outer edges of such openings which function in the nature of stops and coact with

35 to prevent further outward movement of the frame during the operations of the apparatus. The outer edges of the openings 36 are reenforced by a

37 which is welded on the top front end of the

28. Adjacent to the other or inner end of base plate 29, the

28 has suitably secured thereto two

38 with which two holes in such base plate register when the

35 are properly abutting the outer edges of the openings 36 and the associated edge of the

37. When the

38 are projecting through such registered holes the base plate 29 is secured to the

28 by

39.

Between the

38 and the other end of the

28, such deck has welded thereto a plurality of transverse I-beams .5 for supporting a ballast deck 46, which beams and deck 46 are designed to partially counterbalance to a given extent the stretcher frame to be mounted on the remainder of

28. The ballast deck 46 has fixed thereto a number (about ten) of aluminum ballast water boxes or

47, each having the capacity to hold 20 pounds of water when the

28 is revolving. Each of the

47 is provided with a

48, a drain faucet 49 and a sight glass 50 to enable filling it with an exact amount of water. The ballast water to be filled in the

47 should exactly counterbalance the difference in the total weights on opposite sides of the axis of rotation of

28 due to the weight of the body of the woman on the stretcher, the weight of the stretcher and its associated equipment, the weight of the ballast deck 46 and the

47, etc. in order to assure a smooth rotational movement of the machine.

The

24 is provided with equipment for securing the prospective mother suitably for the operation and for assuring the safe delivery of the child. The womans head is placed on a

55 which is held in position on the

32 by a plurality of

56 so that her head may be located at or near to the center of rotation of the machine. Underlying the pelvis of the woman and mounted for longitudinal slidable movement on the

32 is a

57 having

58 in the form of bolts in slidable engagement with

59 extending longitudinally along the sides of

32. When the plate is located in the most appropriate position for the expectant mother, the wing nuts on the bolts forming the

58 are tightened to secure the plate in such position. The

57 has welded thereto adjacent to each side of the womans hips two upright

60, 60 adapted to slidably support a

61 consisting of a cast aluminum half girdle or skirt covering only the lower abdomen and the sides of the hips and having a free open passage for the child to be born. The

61 is slidably connected to the four guide plates ’60 by screws which are welded to the vertical sides of such member and project out through the slots in such plates, and

62 which are tightened on such screws to hold the

61 in an adjusted position on the

60. When the

61 is properly adjusted relative to the perspective mother, it prevents movement of her abdomen radially above and over the pelvis, thus assuring that all movement of the fetus will be through the natural channel, which is the main central opening in the pelvic bone. The

61 also funnels the centrifugal pressures of organs lying between the fetus and the head of the woman towards and against the fetus, thus augmenting the latters tendency to be pressed out of the womb through the pelvic opening and out of the mothers body.

Positioned outwardly of the

57 and mounted on the

32 so as to be located beneath the womans thighs is a second sliding

65 provided with guide members in the form of wing bolts 66 which extend through longitudinally extending slots 67 in the

32 to adjustably connect such

65 to the deck. Fixedly mounted on the

65 in any suitable manner are a pair of

68, 68. Inasmuch as thepla’tes ’68, 68 are the main agents for preventing’the womans body from being moved radially of the axis of rotation by the centrifugal force, they are of great importance and should be made particularly sturdy and be securely connected to

65. Also as the whole of the centrifugal force of the womans body will be transmitted through the slide plate ’65 to the

32, it is advisable to use wing bolts 66 of strong construction and possibly more than two pairs of the same.

Located between the side edges of the

65 and the side edges of the

32 are a pair of

70, 70 slidably connected for longitudinal adjustment on

32 by the

71 and

72 in the

32. Suitably secured to each

70 is a

73 for receiving and holding the womans foot in proper relation to her position during the operation.

Also positioned on the side edge portions of the

32 adjacent to the sides of

65, and located between the

70 and the ends of the

57, are two

76, 76. The

76 are each slidably connected to the

32 for longitudinal adjustment thereon by wing bolts 77 and

78 in such deck. Each of the

76 is provided with a

79 for the woman in the operation of the machine.

In addition to the aforesaid supports and grips, the apparatus is provided with several straps to assure the safe, steady and comfortable positioning of the woman on the stretcher. Thus, the head is held firm by a chin or

82 detachably connected at its ends to the

32. The body is steadied by a

83 provided on the

57, and the thighs are firmly held in the

68 by

84 connected to the sides of such plates.

Means are provided to assure the safe delivery of the fetus and to stop the machine immediately upon such delivery. These means comprise a pocket-shaped reception net 88 made of strong, elastic material and supported under tension by

89 secured at one end by the tail hook 90 to the

91 fixed to the outer end of

65, and secured at their other diverged ends by the

92 to the

68. When properly supported in this fashion, the net 88 is barely in contact with the

93 of the automatic switch-out hinged L lever. The horizontal part 94 of the hinged L lever rests firmly on the switch out

95, which latter rests lightly, but firmly, on the spring switch contactor 96. The bottom or closed end of the net 88 is lined with a thick wad of

97. When the fetus leaves the mothers vagina and lands on the

97 in the net 83, its Weight, as a result of the rotation of the machine, exerts a radial centrifugal force on the bottom of the elastic net 88. This force on the net 88 presses on the upright switch-

93 causing the depression of the horizontal switch-out plate 94 and the switch-

95, which through a known conventional circuit arrangement (not shown) causes an electric switch in the control box 16 to stop the drive motor 15 and the rotation of the whole machine.

A

18 is provided adjacent to the controller 16 to enable the operator to stop quickly the inertial rotation of the machine after the current is switched ofi either by the new born child, or by the operator on instruction from the gynecologist in charge of the operation, or by suitable automatic means which come into operation when the rate of revolution of the machine, either through mistake or malfunction, exceeds the amount considered safe for the particular patient thereon. In the construction illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, such as automatic means is shown as constituted of a steam engine centrifugal ball governor mounted on a

106 over the center of rotation of the machine. The

106 is mounted on

107 welded to the bottom surfaces of the I-

26. The

108 of the governor 105 carries two adjustable vertical switch-out

109 which cooperate with a

110 positioned to control a circuit in the control box 16 at a given rotational speed of the governor. As the speed of rotation of the governor increases to such given speed, the

111 fly outwardly and upwardly and lift the sliding

108, which raises the

109 and causes them to operate the

110 to cause suitable means in the controller 16 to switch out the motor 15.

For safety sake, the machine is enclosed in an annular fence 1’15 capable of excluding all personnel from the reach of the revolving

28. The fence 115-is equipped with two

116 which can be opened before and after spinning to facilitate safe access of personnel-while installing or dismantling the stretcher 24- on the

28. The gates are provided with hinge spurs 117 which will not permit rotation of the

28 unless the

116 are closed.

It will be understood from the aforesaid description of the embodiment of the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, that the expectant mother is initially installed on the

24 at a place remote from the apparatus. The stretcher is readily removed from the

28 by unscrewing the

39, lifting the head end of the stretcher up from the deck 23, and then sliding the

35 of the stretcher bottom plate 29 out of the holes 36 in the

28. The dismantled stretcher is then placed on a carting table and wheeled to the patients bed. The patient is weighed and measurements are taken to enable proper adjustment of the

57, the

65, the

70, 70 and the

76, 76. When such plates are properly adjusted for the patient, they are fastened firmly and securely in place by tightening their associated wing nuts. The patient is then placed in position on the

24 with her head on the pillow so that it will be near or at the center of rotation of the machine. The

61 is then secured in position on the standards 69 and the inside surface of the girdle is packed firmly but not tightly with

62. The thighs of the woman are placed inside the thigh holders 6%, 68 and her feet are placed inside the

73, 73. In the placement of the patient on the stretcher, the several plates on which the

61,

68, 68,

73, 73 and hand grips 79, 79 are mounted, may be additionally adjusted so that the patient is comfortably, but properly and firmly positioned on the stretcher. The

82, 83 and 84 are now put in place and tightened to restrict the movement of the head, torso and thighs, respectively. The infant reception net 88 is then installed in position by attaching the

9t and 92 to the

91 and to to the

68, 68, respectively. The inside of the net is provided with the wad of

97 to protect the child against too direct a contact with the

93. The patient is now ready to be wheeled from her bed or the preparation room to the delivery room.

At the delivery room, the

24 is removed from the carting vehicle and placed on the

28 of the machine. In doing this, it is believed preferable to lift the head end of the stretcher about two feet above the foot end to enable the

35 to be moved more readily through the openings 36 in the

28 until such extensions are firmly butted against the outer edges of such openings and the butting

37. In the same movement, the

33 are threaded through the associated holes in the head end of stretcher plate 29 and such plate 29 is brought to rest in full contact with the

28. The

39 are then firmly screwed onto the

38 to solidly and immovably aflix the stretcher and the patient to the

28. While the stretcher is being lowered to horizontal position on the

28, the switch-

95 passes through openings provided for it in the

29 and 32 and comes into position to be actuated by the horizontal switch arm 94.

When the patient has been properly installed in the machine, the required counter ballast weight of water, determined by the pre-operational weighing of the patient, is loaded through the

48 into the

47. The

116 in the

115 are closed and latched after the stretcher carting vehicle and all personnel, except for the patient, leave the enclosure of the

116. The gynecologist in charge of the operation instructs the operator as to the gravitational force to be applied to the fetus and the latter takes his place at the controls 16 of the apparatus.

When the gynecologist decides that the most opportune time for childbirth has arrived, he instructs the operator to start the machine. When the operator moves the controller handle 21 from zero position the motor is started and through the speed reducer l7 and the associated set of sheaves and belts, including the sheaves l9 and 20, the I-

26 and everything supported thereby are revolved horizontally about the vertical axis of

14. As the operator moves the controller handle 21 to feed more and more current to the motor 15, the rotational speed of the machine progressively increases and so does the centrifugal force. The relationship of speed of rotation and of acceleration at three feet distance from the center of rotation is illustrated by the following table:

Both the body of the mother and the fetus are subjected to centrifugal forces which are functions of distance from the center of rotation and the speed of rotation. The body of the mother is firmly held in position against movement as a whole under such forces by the

73, 73, the

63, 68, the

61, the hand grips 79, 79, and the

82 ,83 and 84. However, there are no external means present which will interfere with the fetus tendency to respond to the action of the centrifugal force. Only those forces which oppose normal childbirth i.e. the frictional and constrictional forces within the mother, are to be overcome by the combined action of the mothers muscles and the centrifugal force created by the rotation of the fetus in the machine. The physicians estimate of how much of this centrifugal force will be needed to assist the mother in achieving the birth of the child and the maximum gs that can be used with safety on the particular patient, are decided upon before the operation. During the operation, the operator gradually speeds up the machine to the predetermined force which is expected to produce the birth of the child, and if such force does not accomplish this, he does not exceed it, unless the physician decides to go the higher gs. He cannot, however, go beyond the maximum gs for which the machine has been set without causing the governor to shut down the machine. When in the operation of the machine, the operator reaches a rate of rotation at which the combination of pressures produced both by the created centrifugal force and by the mother exceed the childbirth resisting forces (friction and constriction), the movement of the fetus occurs and the child is delivered into the net 88. While in the net, the child is still subjected to the action of centrifugal force and is caused by such force to firmly press against the elastic bottom of the net 88. As the

89 and the net give somewhat to this force Which is equal to the weight of the child multiplied by the number of gs it is subjected to, the

97 in the net is pressed by the child against the

93 which is actuated to cut the power from the motor 15 and may be utilized to activate an electric bell, announcing the event. The operator then applies the handbrake 18 to gently bring the machine to a complete stop. Thereupon, the stretcher with the mother on it is detached from the machine and transported to her room.

As has been above indicated, the apparatus depicted in FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings is shown by way of example and it is within the contemplation of the invention to include other embodiments containing the essential features thereof. Thus, instead of mounting the stretcher horizontally on the machine which is the preferred condition where the number of gs employed in accomplishing the birth of the child is relatively high (say above 8 gs), the machine may be constructed as is indicated in FIG. 4, to take care of births which may be brought about at much lower gs. In this connection, and before entering into a description of FIG. 4, it might be said that the centrifugal force carried by rotation of an object about a vertical axis has a horizontal direction, but due to the always present gravitational force, the actual force exerted on such object is a resultant of these two forces. The influence of the gravitational force on the direction of action of the resultant force is greatest at the lower rotational speeds, and its effect becomes progressively less and less important at the higher gs so that the direction of the resultant progressively approaches the horizontal. Therefore, in order to obtain the maximum elfect of the resultant on the fetus, especially at the lower rotational speeds, the mother should be placed in such a position on the machine as to obtain the nearest possible parallelism between the direction of action of the resultant and the line connecting the center of gravity of the fetus and the center point of the opening of the pelvis through which the fetus has to travel on its way out. To enable this to be accomplished at the lower rotational speeds, at which the gravitational force is of increasingly greater importance, it is necessary that the stretcher be given an inclination corresponding to the pre-diagnosed gs at which it is expected that delivery will take place. This may be accomplished by modifying the above described embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings to the extent that the

28 of such embodiment is: dispensed with, and instead supporting the

24 directly on the I-

26 and two

120 as is shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings. In such construction, the I-

26 are provided with two

121 to which the foot end of the stretcher is pivotally connected by means of a

122 that extends through openings provided in the

31 of the stretcher. The

120 are securely welded to the I-

26 and are provided with a number of

123 through which a

124 may be inserted to support the stretcher at different inclinations dependent on the predetermined rotational speeds selected for delivery, as is indicated by the dotted partial outlines of the stretcher in FIG. 4. Like the

122, the

124 extends through openings provided in the

31 of the stretcher. The

120 also support the frame 106′ for the governor 105.

As is shown in FIG. of the drawings, it is also possible to have the stretcher automatically adjust its slope to the optimum direction at whatever rate of rotation it happens to be spinning at a given moment. This is achieved by hinging the stretcher at its head end on the

120 by means of a removable rod extending through openings provided in the

31 of the stretcher and

125 provided in

120″ at a moderate height above the main I beams 26 of the machine, and letting the foot end of the stretcher rest freely on the outer ends of such I-beams. If, for example, the height of the

125 in standards 120′ is selected so that the angle of repose of the stretcher corresponds to the angle of inclination the stretcher would assume when subjected to a centrifugal acceleration of two gs, no elevation of the foot end of the stretcher will occur before the speed of rotation is high enough to cause a horizontal component of two gs. As soon as that minimum is exceeded, the foot end of the stretcher will leave the surfaces of the I-

26 and rise high-er and higher as the speed of rotation is increased, to provide the stretcher with a slope which corresponds to the resultant of the gravitational and acceleration forces at any given speed of rotation of the machine. Thus, as the physican slowly increases the gs to the value at which the travel of the fetus begins, the centrifugal and gravitational forces automatically adjust the inclination of the mothers body to the optimum position for efiicient application of the accelerating forces. This assures that the patient will be submitted to the very minimum acceleration which is necessary to produce the dislodgement of the fetus. When the child has been delivered and the mother cut out in the manner described in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the foot of the stretcher willreturn to a gentle landing on the I-

26 as the machine decelerates. It will be understood, that in all of the embodiments of the invention it is the primary purpose of the apparatus disclosed to accomplish delivery of the fetus by providing the necessary gs required in any particular instance and this even though the supplementary forces supplied by the patient are zero either because she is too weak to render any assistance at all, or has lost consciousness.

2. Child bearing apparatus such as defined in

1, in which said means for supporting the patients limbs, include means engaging and supporting the thighs of the patient, and means for holding the feet in place.

4. Child bearing apparatus such as defined in

1, including a detachable stretcher for carrying the patient to and from said centrifuge, and means positively connecting said detachable stretcher to said centrifuge to form a unitary device, said holding, and limb and abdomen supporting means being mounted on said detachable stretcher.

5. Child bearing apparatus such as defined in

1, including means on said turntable for counter-balancing the weight of the patient thereon, said counter-balancing means including a plurality of containers adjustably loaded With a weighting material to vary the weight thereof, and means for securing said containers to said centrifuge.

6. Child bearing apparatus such as defined in

1, including means located between said limb supporting means in position to receive the discharged infant, said infant receiving means being connected to and supported by said limb supporting means.

7. Child bearing apparatus such as defined in

1, including means enclosing said centrifuge for exclusion of personnel during the rotating movements of said centrifuge and having an entry opening closed by a gate, and means controlled by said gate for controlling the operation of said centrifuge.

8.,Child bearing apparatus such as defined in

1, in which said holding means includes detachable stretcher means having a body supporting portion of sufficient length to enable the patients head to be located at or near said vertical axis of said centrifuge, and means for attaching said stretcher means to said centrifuge against dislodgement thereof in a radial direction with relation to said vertical axis by the centrifugal forces.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,193,154 3/40 Antinori 248458 2,195,805 4/40 Baker 272-44 2,611,363 9/52 Peters 128134 2,675,564 4/54 Hughes 128l34 OTHER REFERENCES Engineering, May 27, 1955, pp. 662665. Rating, German application 1,127,028, printed Apr. 5, 1962 (K1.

14/01).