Uterine Wall Membrane Anchor Device for the Prevention of Preterm Premature Rupture of the Membranes Following Fetoscopic Surgery

Significance Of the million babies born in the US each year have a complex birth defect Some defects such as spina bifida warrant in utero interventions to improve fetal outcomes Spina bifida is a condition where there is incomplete closing of the backbone and membranes around the spinal cord Texas Children s Hospital has pioneered a fetoscopic method to address spina bifida While much of the surgery can be performed through ports the uterus currently needs to be exteriorized in order to position the fetus appropriately and place sutures to anchor the chorioamniotic membranes to the uterine wall The sutures are placed to prevent preterm premature rupture of membranes pPROM which leads to both maternal and fetal complications PPROM is a common complication of fetal surgery occurring in about of minimally invasive cases The risk of pPROM both maternal and fetal often offsets the benefits of fetal treatment Innovation The Uterine wall Membrane Anchor UMA is a linear device that facilitates the percutaneous suturing of chorioamniotic membranes to the uterine wall during fetoscopic surgery Two cylindrical anchors are deployed on either side of the uterine wall and connected by a knotted suture that can be tightened to secure the membranes This solution facilitates the conversion of existing open fetal procedures to percutaneous procedures and potentially the development of new fetal interventions Approach In this SBIR Phase I project Fannin Innovation Studio will optimize the prototype device design and test it in benchtop and animal models Aim is focused on refining and optimizing the UMA prototype and developing the surgical procedure to deploy the device This will accelerate our progress towards clinical implementation and commercialization In Aim the optimized prototype developed in Aim will be tested in pregnant rabbit chronic studies and pregnant sheep acute studies We believe that the UMA device will bring value to patients doctors and children s hospitals by providing a solution that reduces maternal and fetal complications expands patient population through the development of a safer percutaneous procedure and leads to better outcomes for children with spina bifida Fetoscopic surgeries are performed in utero to address complex birth defects and improve fetal outcomes However preterm premature rupture of membranes is a major complication of fetal surgery occurring in about of minimally invasive surgical cases In some fetal surgeries such as spina bifida procedures the uterus is exteriorized to place sutures to secure the chorioamniotic membranes to the uterine wall and thus prevent rupture The UMA device allows for the percutaneous deployment of a dual anchor suture system improving maternal outcomes through a safer procedure while simultaneously improving fetal outcomes by preventing membrane rupture