Collapsible Pessary Hinged Petal Deployment Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pessaries for treating pelvic organ prolapse are rigid and difficult to insert and remove without assistance, leading to discomfort and reliance on healthcare practitioners for maintenance, which limits user autonomy and quality of life.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible pessary design featuring a stem with hingedly attached petal members that rotate between collapsed and deployed states, allowing for easy insertion and removal, and a plunger mechanism to facilitate deployment and retraction, enabling self-management by users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If pessaries are made rigid to provide structural support for pelvic organs, then support function is improved, but ease of insertion and removal deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the pessary structure transformable between rigid and flexible states. The petal members are hinged to the stem, allowing the device to be flexible during insertion/removal and rigid during use. This dynamic transformation resolves the contradiction between needing rigidity for support and flexibility for ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the pessary into a stem and multiple petal members connected by hinges. This segmentation allows each component to move independently, enabling the device to collapse into a compact form for insertion while maintaining structural integrity when deployed for organ support.
2Ease of operation
If pessaries are made collapsible to facilitate self-insertion and removal, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic hinge mechanism allows the pessary to transform between collapsed and deployed states without requiring complex locking or actuation systems. The simplicity of the hinge joint minimizes device complexity while achieving the desired collapsibility for self-management.
3Strength
If pessaries remain in deployed state to provide continuous support, then support function is improved, but difficulty of removal increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hinged petal members enable the pessary to dynamically transition from a rigid deployed state providing continuous support to a flexible collapsed state for easy removal. This dynamic capability allows the device to fulfill both requirements of continuous support and easy removal.
Data Source
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AI summary
A collapsible pessary is provided, and can have a stem and at least one hingedly attached petal member that can rotate between a collapsed state with a smaller diameter and a deployed state with a larger diameter. In the deployed state, the at least one petal member can extend outward from the stem, and in the collapsed state, the at least one petal member can be rotated upwards so that the diameter of the pessary is smaller in the collapsed state than in the deployed state. The pessary can be in a collapsed state wherein its overall diameter is at a minimum, or a deployed state, wherein its overall diameter is at a maximum.