Measuring and testing – Muscular force – Using a resilient force-resister
Patent
1993-11-09
1996-01-16
Williams, Hezron E.
Measuring and testing
Muscular force
Using a resilient force-resister
7337901, 128778, A61B 500, G01L 1900
Patent
active
054838320
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a device for monitoring the contractability of the pelvic floor muscles, wherein a probe is connected by at least one measurement line or conduct to a display.
A device of the type described in the introduction hereto is described, for example, in DD-PS 157 594; in this, a tube that is closed at one end is surrounded by a flexible casing and the effect of the sphincter muscle that is to be monitored on the probe can be seen on an appropriate measuring device. A similar configuration is described in CH-PS 346 971; in this, a cylindrical hollow body can be inflated by means of a compressor that is connected to a manometer. A disadvantage in this configuration is the fact that the stresses that act along the entire length of the probe, will result in an indication without it being possible to say precisely that the indication has been caused by the work done by a specific area of the musculature.
A similar embodiment is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,522; in this, a spring element is imbedded in the probing head in order to permit precise positioning.
DE-OS 32 21 115 describes a device for measuring the contractability of sphincter muscles; in this, a probing head that can be introduced into a bodily orifice has an inner body that is enclosed along part of its length by a hose that is of a thin, elastic, and extensible material. The hose is connected through at least one aperture in the inner body to the interior space of said body. In this known embodiment, the measurement line is configured as a concentric double tube, in which connection it is especially intended that the probe be used, for example, to measure contractions within the intestines, so that the probe must be sufficiently flexible over a wide area.
In the female body, the pelvic floor muscles ensure, amongst other things, the retention of urine and the proper closure of the urethra. The pelvic floor muscles are arranged in a layer and have, essentially, a central sphincter muscle. In women, the pelvic floor muscles are stressed to a relatively high level during pregnancy, which means that the muscles develop a certain amount of strength and force. During birth, however, the pelvic floor muscles are stretched to a very great extent, and even muscles that have been trained to a certain extent during pregnancy cannot immediately resume the desired function after such powerful stretching or over-stretching. As a consequence of this, in particular when a woman has given birth a number of times, the danger of incontinence is particularly great, at least in the period of time after the birth, and for this reason a number of training programs for over-stressed muscles or muscles that cannot completely fulfil their function are offered in hospitals after pregnancy.
In the case of the most frequent indication, namely incontinence, the patient must tighten the pelvic floor muscles, which can be worked at will, by means of specific exercises; when this is done, it must also be ensured that it is, in actual fact, those muscles that are to be trained that are tightened and that other muscles do not simultaneously induce pressure. If known devices are used, the activation of other muscles can give the therapist and the patient a false impression that correct muscle training is taking place, and when exercises of this kind are used it has up to now been impossible to monitor the effects obtained by therapy in any other way.
It is the task of the present invention to create a device of the type described in the introduction hereto, with which a therapeutic program and, in particular, the successes achieved by training, can be monitored and displayed in a simple way. In order to solve this problem, the device according to the present invention is characterized essentially in that the probe has on its periphery at least one pressure sensor or areas that are separated from each other and which can be deformed elastically against a fluid. By having at least one pressure sensor appropriately positioned on the periphery or close to
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Michl Ilse
Pauser Alexander
Biegel R.
Williams Hezron E.
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