LONDON—The winner of the 2012 Horners Award for Plastics Design and Innovation is an obstetric training device called The Birthing Baby, jointly developed by Brightworks and Limbs and Things.
The Birthing Baby is a mannequin used to train doctors, midwives and nurses and help the performance of key clinical tasks and improve organization and support.
The head, body and limbs are made from RTV silicone rubber, ABS and water-blown polyurethane foam. It includes several realistic, key anatomical features. The head is suitable to practice forceps and suction deliveries and the arms, legs and head articulate realistically. The flexibility, hardness, density and weight distribution of the skin, limbs and joints closely replicate those of a real baby.
“The Birthing Baby is fully user-serviceable, manufactured in the UK and, since its initial launch in October 2011, has sold over 260 units to a primarily international market,” according to Graeme Paterson of Brightworks.
The award is run jointly by the Worshipful Company of Horners and the British Plastics Federation. It is awarded annually for entries demonstrating innovation in plastics design and manufacture or in the processing of plastics.