Implementation of Pessary with an Embedded Stimulator to treat Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP)
Naween Dehigaspitiyage Don
The design and implementation of a device that will provide a new innovative solution to treat Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP).
Over 50% of women after pregnancy or due to old age suffer from what is known as Pelvic Organ Prolapse. The condition involves the inactivity of the pelvic muscles to hold the organs in the vaginal tract in place, as a result the organs begin to prolapse outwards. There are different levels of severity and the downward motion of organs can cause various levels of discomfort and can have an adverse effect on the quality of life for a woman. Current solutions available to treat POP are Pelvic Floor Muscle Training (PFMT) and stationary pessaries. Although helpful to providing temporary relief, they aren’t a long-term solution to treating this condition. The proposed embedded stimulator will be used to capture the pelvic muscle activity across a period of time, and trigger neuromuscular
contractions in the pelvic floor through the process of stimulation. This in conjunction with PFMT will provide the patient with a long term and effective solution to treat POP.
This FYP will contain the designs, equipment, power supplies and tests that were implemented throughout the year to build a prototype that delivers on the functionalities suggested to treat this condition.
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Functionality can be broken down into three main parts: Activity Detection, Transmission and Stimulation. Activity detection involves capturing the pressure readings present inside the vaginal tract to determine severity of prolapsing in the time of testing. Depending on the readings present, conditions set in software will be written to diagnose the condition of pelvic floor muscles from a scale of ‘No further activity needed’ to ‘Activation is required’. The data acquire will be accessed and transmitted through an application on a smartphone device via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The user will be able to access this information on the app once the device is paired to their preferred device of choice. Depending on the scale of severity shown on the screen, the user is able to select a stimulation setting to cater to the level the Activation Detection readings were outputting. The
stimulation will be conducted by the electrodes found attached to the pessary at low frequencies ranging from 2 -100 Hz. From a change of a button on the app the user can select the amplitude, frequency, and duration settings for stimulation. A closed loop feedback system was initially planned, however with further discussion with medical professionals it was advised that the device should be
patient controlled, with professional advice from a physio. The user will decide where and when the Activity Detection or Stimulation functions will be activated via the smartphone application.
