INTEGRATING RESEARCH FOR DESIGN (RFD) AND DELPHI VALIDATION: A FRAMEWORK FOR PH-RESPONSIVE MATERNITY WEARABLES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63456/tsrj-2-1-42Keywords:
pH‑responsive sensor, Nitrazine, amniotic fluid leakage, maternity safety underwear, low‑resource settings, sol–gelAbstract
Preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM) remains a leading cause of neonatal mortality, yet accessible screening tools are scarce in low-resource settings. Existing solutions, such as single-use Nitrazine pads or biomarker kits, often fail to balance affordability, sustainability, and diagnostic accuracy. This study proposes a comprehensive design framework for a reusable, pH-responsive maternity underwear system designed for early PPROM detection. Adopting a Research for Design (RfD) methodology, we synthesized material constraints of sol–gel indicators with clinical requirements to develop an initial prototype concept. Crucially, this concept was refined through two rounds of qualitative expert validation involving obstetricians and midwives. The first round identified key risks in user compliance and interpretation ambiguity, driving the iteration of a dual-criterion decision rule. This rule combines a pH threshold (pH ≥ 7.0) with a time-persistence check to mitigate false positives. The final output is a validated framework that integrates material performance, user interaction logic, and service design principles. This study contributes a practical, expert-verified pathway for developing sustainable, low-cost wearable diagnostics suitable for resource-constrained maternal care.
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