OdonAssist Launches in Europe After Assisting 300 Births
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 17
OdonAssist Launches in Europe After Assisting 300 Births
4 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 17
Launched on May 5, OdonAssist is now available in Europe after being used to deliver 300 babies in trials and early rollout.
The inflatable air cuff is designed to guide a baby through the birth canal more gently than forceps or ventouse, which mothers and clinicians said can leave marks or bruising.
The device won CE Kitemark approval in 2025 after testing that began in 2018 at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, with earlier WHO-backed work in Argentina and South Africa.
Invented in 2006 by Argentine mechanic Jorge Odon from a bottle-cork extraction idea, the tool was refined over eight years by midwives, doctors and engineers.
Developers said OdonAssist will remain limited to the UK and Europe until it secures additional local regulatory clearances elsewhere.
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Transforming Assisted Vaginal Birth: OdonAssist’s 66% Success Rate and Global Potential
Overview
OdonAssist is a groundbreaking advancement in assisted vaginal birth, representing the first major innovation in this field in over 150 years. Its unique design uses a soft, inflatable air cuff that gently surrounds the baby’s head, allowing doctors to assist births more gently during contractions. This addresses the ongoing need for safer alternatives to traditional tools like forceps and vacuum extractors. Developed through strong collaboration across multiple institutions, OdonAssist expands the clinical options available to practitioners and offers a long-overdue improvement to the obstetric toolkit, aiming to make assisted births safer and more comfortable for mothers and babies.