Jorge Odón is an Argentinian car mechanic who invented a simple appliance that could save millions of lives of mothers and babies. He was shown a YouTube video of a trick to remove a cork from inside a bottle. The secret is to insert a plastic bag into the bottle, inflate the bag around the cork and then pull it out. He was fascinated and he won a bet by demonstrating the trick to a friend. Later that night, he had a brainwave – he could use the same principle that extracted the cork from the bottle to extract a baby during a difficult childbirth. He developed the idea and discussed it with people – most of whom thought he was crazy. But he persisted. He built a prototype using a glass jar, his daughter’s toy doll and a fabric bag sewn by his wife.
In 2006, he patented the concept and gained the support of a leading obstetrician in Buenos Aires, Dr Javier Schvartzman, who helped him develop and improve the device. This gained the attention of the World Health Organization, whose chief coordinator for maternal health, Dr Mario Merialdi, was intrigued by the idea.
When the doctor or midwife activates the device, two plastic sleeves go over the baby’s head, separating it from the birth canal. A little air is pumped into the sleeves, which inflate and grasp the head. The smooth plastic container is then pulled out. The World Health Organization says the device should be safer and easier to apply than a forceps, vacuum extractor or C-section operation, with less risk of infection.
Over 5 million babies and over a quarter of a million mothers die in childbirth every year – mainly in the developing world. Odón’s invention could, potentially, save many of these lives because it is inexpensive and relatively easy to use. The product will be manufactured by Becton Dickinson and will be available at low cost in developing countries.
Jorge Odón is now celebrated for his invention. He said, ‘I woke up one night with this idea; it almost felt magical. What I cannot understand is how I came up with a solution to help babies be born. I’m moved by the potential of this invention and I’m especially grateful to the doctors who first believed in me.’
Take a different view. We tend to think of childbirth as something biological or medical. But Odón approached the problem from the point of view of a mechanical engineer. By examining the mechanical process, he was able to conceive a mechanical device for its improvement.
Spot a weird connection. Odón watched a video of a cork in a bottle and saw an analogy with a baby in the birth canal. A solution in one field can be applied in another, if the connection can be found.
Outsiders can find radical solutions. Odón knew nothing about obstetrics, but this turned out to be an advantage. He thought like a mechanical engineer, not a doctor.
A radical idea initially looks absurd and needs support. Putting a plastic bag around a baby in the birth canal sounded ridiculous at first, so the open-minded support of Schvartzman and Merialdi was crucial to the survival and development of the idea.