Author(s)

Heather van Raalte¹, Vladimir Egorov^2*

¹Princeton Urogynecology, Princeton, NJ, USA.
²Artann Laboratories, Trenton, NJ, USA.

The Vaginal Tactile Imager (VTI) records pressure patterns from vaginal walls under an applied tissue deformation and during pelvic floor muscle contractions. The objective of this study is to validate tactile imaging and muscle contraction parameters (markers) sensitive to the female pelvic floor conditions. Twenty-two women with normal and prolapse conditions were examined by a vaginal tactile imaging probe. We identified 9 parameters which were sensitive to prolapse conditions (p < 0.05 for one-way ANOVA and/or p < 0.05 for t-test with correlation factor r from -0.73 to -0.56). The list of parameters includes pressure, pressure gradient and dynamic pressure response during muscle contraction at identified locations. These parameters may be used for biomechanical characterization of female pelvic floor conditions to support an effective management of pelvic floor prolapse.

Biomechanics, Soft Tissue, Tactile Imaging, Prolapse, Tissue Elasticity, Elastography

Raalte, H. and Egorov, V. (2015) Tactile Imaging Markers to Characterize Female Pelvic Floor Conditions. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 5, 505-515. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2015.59073.