The European Pelvitrack project, an ambitious research initiative funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC), was launched at the Río Ebro Campus of the University of Zaragoza, where the partners will share progress on a technology focused on predicting perineal trauma and promoting personalised and preventive maternal care through artificial intelligence and digital twins.
Despite medical advances, up to 90% of vaginal births result in some form of perineal tear. At present, healthcare professionals lack real-time diagnostic tools that would enable them to anticipate these injuries. Pelvic floor dysfunction not only affects one in three women, but also leads to chronic problems such as pain, incontinence, prolapse and sexual dysfunction.
According to figures provided by the project partners, it is estimated that over one million new perineal tears occur in first-time mothers in Europe each year, and that more than 23 million women have been diagnosed with pelvic floor disorders.
Pelvitrack is a highly innovative initiative, as it combines mechanical biomarkers – which identify physical signals from the tissue – with digital twins and in silico simulations that enable predictions to be made about how each woman’s perineal tissue will behave, as well as real-time monitoring, which provides obstetricians with accurate data to make informed decisions during childbirth.
The consortium for this project comprises 14 public and private partners from various European countries, including I3A Unizar researchers Estefanía Peña and Begoña Calvo, from the Applied Mechanics and Bioengineering (AMB) group. [F1] It brings together experts in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Optics and Obstetrics to transform a laboratory solution into a tool ready for clinical use. Its aim is to reduce the incidence of pelvic floor dysfunction through the development of cutting-edge predictive tools, supported by an internationally renowned Scientific Innovation Advisory Board (SIAB)..
Further information: https://www.pelvitrack.com/
Project video: https://www.pelvitrack.com/publications
