Intra-body Capacitance Sensor for Pelvic Floor Positioning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Intra-body devices used for pelvic floor muscle exercises and rehabilitation face challenges in accurately determining proper positioning and calibration within the body cavity, leading to inadequate measurement and potential user safety issues.
Innovation Solution
The use of capacitance sensors extending along the length of the intra-body device to digitally process measurements, determining insertion status, and providing pelvic floor motion tracking, ensuring accurate positioning and calibration through comparison with predetermined thresholds and calibration values.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If capacitance sensors are added to intra-body devices to enable positioning detection, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The capacitance sensor is divided into multiple sensing zones along the length of the intra-body device, with each zone independently measuring capacitance values. This segmentation allows the system to determine positioning status by comparing values across different zones, improving measurement precision without requiring a single complex sensor system.
Solution Approach 2:
The capacitance sensor serves multiple functions: it detects positioning status, determines insertion depth, and provides calibration data for the pelvic floor muscle tracking system. By making the sensor multi-functional, the patent reduces overall device complexity while maintaining high measurement precision through a single integrated sensing mechanism.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are used to monitor pelvic floor muscle activity, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines capacitance sensing with pressure sensing in a single integrated sensor system. The capacitance sensor and pressure sensor work together to measure different aspects of muscle activity, merging multiple measurement functions into one unified device that maintains high precision while reducing overall complexity through integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing circuit acts as an intermediary that receives signals from both capacitance and pressure sensors, calibrates the measurements, and produces the final pelvic floor muscle activity data. This intermediary processing layer coordinates the multiple sensors, allowing them to work synergistically to improve measurement precision without proportionally increasing device complexity.
3Reliability
If calibration procedures are implemented to ensure proper device positioning, then reliability is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary capacitance measurements upon insertion to automatically determine positioning status before beginning the main measurement protocol. This preliminary action identifies when calibration is needed and initiates the calibration procedure automatically, reducing the time users need to manually intervene for positioning verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing circuit continuously monitors capacitance values and provides feedback about device positioning status. When the system detects that the intra-body device is not properly positioned, it automatically initiates calibration procedures or alerts the user, creating a closed-loop feedback system that ensures reliability while minimizing time loss through automated responses.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables precise monitoring and calibration of pelvic floor muscle exercises, preventing inadequate device positioning and ensuring accurate data collection, thereby enhancing user safety and rehabilitation effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
one or more capacitance sensors arranged and configured to enable detection of a placement status of the intra-body device
Data Source
AI summary
Examples described herein relate to an intra-body device and to detection of its intra-body placement. The intra-body device may form part of a pelvic floor muscle tracking system. Capacitance measurements are taken by a capacitance sensor of the intra-body device. The capacitance sensor is arranged such that it extends along at least part of a length of the intra-body device. The capacitance measurements are processed to determine positioning of the intra-body device in relation to a cavity of a body of a user. The cavity may be a vagina or an anus of the user. Operation of the pelvic floor muscle tracking system may be controlled based on the determined positioning.