Sensor-Based Kegel System for Pelvic Floor Muscle Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for Kegel muscle training lack effective ways to teach proper form, measure exercise results, and provide customized advanced exercise levels, leading to inefficiencies and potential harm in addressing urinary incontinence.
Innovation Solution
A Kegel health system with an insertable body equipped with sensors and a control unit that provides feedback through an external device, allowing for real-time monitoring and biofeedback to guide users in correct muscle contractions and track progress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional Kegel exercise methods are used without assistance devices, then the approach is simple and easy to understand, but there is no effective way to teach proper form, track progress, or measure exercise results
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where sensors detect pelvic floor muscle contractions and provide real-time feedback to the user through visual, auditory, or haptic signals. This feedback loop enables users to learn proper contraction techniques and track their progress over time, resolving the contradiction between measurement capability and system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary device (sensor system) that mediates between the user's muscle contractions and the external environment. The sensors act as intermediaries to detect and quantify muscle activity, providing objective measurement data that would otherwise be unavailable in traditional exercise methods.
2Reliability
If electrical stimulation devices are used to aid Kegel exercises, then muscle contraction can be induced, but the devices are inconvenient and complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service approach where the device automatically detects muscle contractions through sensors and provides feedback without requiring manual manipulation or complex user intervention. The system autonomously monitors exercise performance and adjusts feedback accordingly, eliminating the need for manual device operation while maintaining training effectiveness.
3Loss of information
If manual manipulation devices are used during exercises, then some feedback can be obtained, but the devices are inconvenient and require manual intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual manipulation with an automated sensor-based detection system. Instead of requiring users to manually manipulate devices to obtain feedback, the system uses sensors to automatically detect muscle contractions and provides information through electronic feedback channels (visual displays, auditory signals, haptic feedback), eliminating manual intervention while maintaining comprehensive monitoring capability.
4Measurement precision
If air pressure gauges or vibration devices are used, then some measurement capability is provided, but the methods are incomplete and may provide negative or harmful results
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs feedback mechanisms that provide real-time information about muscle contraction quality and intensity. This feedback enables users to adjust their exercises to achieve optimal results while avoiding harmful patterns, allowing the system to guide users away from potentially damaging exercise techniques through informative feedback signals.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for a Kegel health system can include: inserting an insertable body into a user, the insertable body connected to a tail outside of the user, the insertable body including a bulbous body coupled to a connecting body, the bulbous body including a control unit, the connecting body coupled to the tail, and the connecting body including sensors; sensing sensor data with the sensors, the sensor data indicating the presence of contractions from a pelvic floor muscle of the user; providing feedback to the user with graphics and written information displayed on an external device, the graphics and the written information indicating attributes of the contractions from the pelvic floor muscle.