Sensor-Enabled Catheter for Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for fecal incontinence, such as pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), face challenges in helping patients visualize and achieve the proper muscle position and control due to the inability to effectively rehabilitate the pelvic floor muscles.
Innovation Solution
A multiple sensor-enabled catheter provides real-time data on the patient's anatomy and physiology, including muscular function and position, allowing for precise manipulation and rehabilitation of the pelvic floor muscles, enabling effective treatment of fecal incontinence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is performed without real-time feedback, then the exercise regimen can be carried out, but the individual is unable to visualize or attain the proper muscle position and control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by providing real-time visual or tactile feedback to patients during PFMT exercises. Sensors detect muscle activation and position, translating this data into visual representations that guide patients to achieve proper muscle positioning and control, directly resolving the inability to visualize correct technique
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces subjective mechanical sensation with objective sensor-based measurement. Instead of relying on patients' internal sense of muscle position, the system uses sensors to detect and report actual muscle state, substituting mechanical intuition with precise electronic measurement and visual feedback
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are integrated into the catheter to provide real-time data, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple sensor types (pressure sensors, flow sensors, position sensors) into a single integrated catheter device. This consolidation allows simultaneous measurement of multiple physiological parameters while maintaining a unified, manageable device structure that can be inserted and positioned within the patient's body
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter is designed with multi-functionality, serving as both a diagnostic tool and a therapeutic guide. The same device that provides real-time physiological data also guides pelvic floor muscle training and potentially delivers treatment, reducing the need for multiple separate devices
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and devices to diagnose and treat fecal incontinence in females and males are provided. A multiple sensor-enabled catheter for positioning in a patient's rectum allows for the visualization and manipulation or positioning of an anatomical reference point(s) in the patient's body. A multiple sensor-enabled catheter for rectal insertion in a patient allows for the visualization and implementation of efficient and effective exercises to strengthen pelvic floor muscles.