It Only Looks Dangerous

What can a car mechanic possibly have to do with the medical field? To me, they seem to be two very different fields, but when Jorge Odon came on the scene, all that changed. Jorge Odon is an Argentinian auto mechanic and inventor who created a device that has already been used hundreds of times, to assist in difficult births that could prove to be fatal for child and mother. It is appropriately named The Odon Device, and it is an “extremely simple tool that involves a plastic bag being inserted into the uterus and blown up with air, this then grips the baby’s head and allows it to be removed quickly and relatively painlessly.” The whole process seems like it could kill the baby, but in reality, it only looks dangerous.

To ensure that the device does not damage the lining of the uterus, the bag only goes over the head of the baby so that the volume of material going into the uterus is limited. Meanwhile, there is little chance for the baby to be injured. Babies in the womb do not breath and therefore, the bag cannot suffocate them and it is far safer than other methods. Forceps and Ventouse devices (a vacuum extractor for use in assisting childbirth) can damage tissue and cause injuries to the skull of the infant. The idea for this lifesaving device first came to Odon in 2006 after seeing a video hack on how to remove a loose cork from an empty wine bottle. Seriously!! I find it totally amazing that someone can look at something like a cork in a bottle, and in their mind, see a totally different, yet similar way to used the idea for the removal of the cork. The Odon Device is making a splash nevertheless. It has caught the attention of the world health organization (WHO) and global medical technology company, BD, which is currently developing the product. The device is incredibly inexpensive and easy to use, and so it is thought to be perfect for use in developing countries. It seems that in these In these types of countries, birth difficulties can often be fatal and so this tool has the potential to save an incredible amount of lives in the future. I think it is an incredible device for any country. Forceps have long been a dangerous device for babies, and the Ventouse Device sounds absolutely barbaric.