Soft, readily expandable vacuum bell assembly

摘要

The subject invention is directed to a vacuum bell assembly for assisting an obstetrician in controlling and accurately attaching the cranial traction cup to a predetermined attachment point on the infant's head during childbirth. The handle is typically designed to offer a measure of flexibility when pulling traction is applied during use so that even if the obstetrician is not pulling exactly on a straight axis, the cup will not be disengaged from it's attachment to the fetal scalp thereby interrupting the delivery process. The vacuum bell assembly has a cranial extraction cup fabricated from a soft, readily expandable material. This reduces the chances of injury to the fetal scalp and to the tender tissue of the vaginal walls in the birth canal. The cranial traction cup defines an internal attachment chamber having an outer opening for attaching the cup to a portion of an infant's head located within the internal attachment chamber. The nature of the material from which the cup is fabricated allows the cup rim to expand and fit the head of each individual infant. In this way, when suction forces from within the internal attachment chamber during use are applied to the infant's head, the cranial traction cup assists in withdrawing the infant from its mother's birth canal during childbirth. Because a proper fit on each infant's head is ensured by the cup design, no vacuum leaks will occur when subatmospheric pressure is applied. This enables an obstetrician to pull in an effective and efficient manner to advance the infant's head through the birth canal.