Pelvic Floor Exercise Device with Variable Resistance and Displacement Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for exercising pelvic floor muscles in women lack the ability to add external resistance and quantify displacement effectively, leading to inadequate muscle strengthening and discomfort due to gravity-dependent movements and limited adjustability.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a main cylindrical body with a vertical rod and crosspieces, a secondary component with a graduated ruler for monitoring, and optional external weights that allow variable resistance adjustment without device removal, applying force directly opposing muscle contraction and enhancing cephalic and anterior displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If existing devices are used for pelvic floor muscle exercise, then the device can be inserted into the vagina and remain there during use, but it cannot add external weight to impose resistance of different magnitudes on the contraction
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates a movable rod that can be adjusted to different positions along the vaginal canal, allowing dynamic modification of resistance magnitude. The rod's position can be changed during use to provide varying resistance levels, enabling adaptability without requiring multiple separate devices or complex reconfiguration mechanisms.
2Measurement precision
If existing devices are used for pelvic floor muscle exercise, then the device can monitor contraction, but it cannot quantify the displacement of the indicator rod
Solution Approach 1:
The device replaces manual visual inspection of rod displacement with a mechanical measurement system. A ruler or scale is integrated into the device structure, allowing direct mechanical measurement and quantification of the rod's displacement during contraction, providing objective numerical data without complex electronic sensors or systems.
3Force
If vaginal cones are used for exercise in orthostatic position, then resistant force of different magnitudes can be applied, but the resistant force is performed in a perpendicular direction to the muscle fibers
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs an asymmetric rod configuration where the rod is positioned at specific angles relative to the vaginal canal axis. This asymmetric arrangement ensures that when the rod moves during muscle contraction, the resistance force is applied parallel to the muscle fiber direction rather than perpendicular to it, optimizing the exercise effectiveness while maintaining versatility across different exercise positions.
4Ease of operation
If KEGELMASTER forcing is used, then the device must be removed during the exercise session to change weights
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separable components: a main body inserted into the vaginal canal and a removable weight attachment system. The weights can be independently attached or detached from the rod without removing the main device, allowing weight changes during exercise sessions without interruption or removal of the intravaginal component.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a device for exercising the pelvic floor muscles in women, which comprises a main component (A), a secondary component (B) and a set of external weights (P). Component (A) is directly related to pelvic floor muscle contraction exercise. Component (B) allows the evaluation and monitoring of contraction exercises by measuring the displacement of a rod on a graduated ruler. The set of weights (P), with different loads, allows it to impose resistance of different magnitudes on the muscle exercises to be performed, according to the user's needs and objectives. Thus, this invention falls within the technical field of mechanical functioning devices, with application to the medical area, for the treatment and/or prevention of pathological situations related to the alteration of the muscular function of the pelvic floor region.