title: Multidirectional pelvic floor muscle strength measurement.
abstract: Pelvic floor muscle (PFM) strength measurement provides useful information for the study of pelvic floor dysfunctions. Vaginal digital palpation, intravaginal pressure measurements, and the use of a dynamometric speculum represent currently available clinical methods for evaluating PFM strength. However, none of these methods provide a dynamic measurement of pelvic floor strength in multiple directions simultaneously. The aim of the present paper is to report the development and first measurement trial of a device that follows the vaginal canal morphology and is able to measure pelvic floor strength multidirectionally.
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. cristinasaleme@gmail.com
authors.forename: Cristina S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Saleme
authors.forename: Daniel N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Del Vecchio
authors.forename: Agnaldo L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Silva Filho
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pinotti
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053580:Muscle Strength; D053581:Muscle Strength Dynamometer; D010173:Palpation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014621:Vagina / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*