# Wearable multifunctional optical device for early detection of postpartum hemorrhage

> **NIH NIH R00** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $241,712

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY (See instructions): 
Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), defined as the loss of 1 L of blood or more within 24 hours after birth, is the 
leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide. Importantly, PPH is the most preventable cause of maternal 
mortality, and the leading factors causing preventable PPH are delays in diagnosis and treatment. Thus, 
there is an urgent need for an early and accurate alert system that can facilitate prompt treatment to 
prevent PPH-related morbidity and mortality. During hemorrhage, the body tries to compensate for blood 
loss by shunting blood from the periphery to vital organs and replenishing reduced blood volume with water 
from the interstitium. These compensation mechanisms help stabilize the patient, delaying the time until 
global vascular indicators such as blood pressure and heart rate are affected, the current measurements 
used to predict PPH. Thus, monitoring of peripheral blood flow and blood content can yield early indicators 
of hemorrhage. Optical technologies are well suited to noninvasively measure blood flow and blood 
content. Preliminary experiments demonstrated sensitivity to reduced perfusion in vivo and measured 
significant differences between blood samples diluted to physiologic levels seen during PPH using 
complimentary optical approaches. We hypothesize that early changes in peripheral blood flow and water 
transfer from interstitium to the vasculature will be detected using wearable optical techniques, and such 
changes can signal early stages of PPH. We will develop a multifunctional wearable optical device and test 
it in pregnant patients at high and low risk of PPH. These studies will create a database of PPH signatures 
that will help inform diagnostic algorithms that will provide an early warning system for improved PPH 
management.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10919207
- **Project number:** 5R00HD103954-05
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** CHRISTINE M O'BRIEN
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $241,712
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-15 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10919207

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10919207, Wearable multifunctional optical device for early detection of postpartum hemorrhage (5R00HD103954-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10919207. Licensed CC0.

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