Multifunctional Evaluation Technology for Diagnosing Malfunctions of Regional Pelvic Floor Muscles Based on Stretchable Electrode Array Probe
Shengming Wang,
Luoqi Yang,
Haofei Jiang,
Jie Xia,
Wenjuan Li,
Zujuan Zhang,
Shaomin Zhang,
Hao Jin,
Jikui Luo,
Shurong Dong,
Yanlan Yu,
Zhenwei Xie
Affiliations
Shengming Wang
Key Lab. of Advanced Micro/Nano Electronic Devices & Smart Systems of Zhejiang, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Luoqi Yang
Department of Gynecology, Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
Haofei Jiang
Department of Urology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310016, China
Jie Xia
Key Lab. of Advanced Micro/Nano Electronic Devices & Smart Systems of Zhejiang, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Wenjuan Li
Department of Gynecology, Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
Zujuan Zhang
Department of Gynecology, Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
Shaomin Zhang
Key Lab. of Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Hao Jin
Key Lab. of Advanced Micro/Nano Electronic Devices & Smart Systems of Zhejiang, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Jikui Luo
Key Lab. of Advanced Micro/Nano Electronic Devices & Smart Systems of Zhejiang, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Shurong Dong
Key Lab. of Advanced Micro/Nano Electronic Devices & Smart Systems of Zhejiang, College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Yanlan Yu
Department of Urology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310016, China
Zhenwei Xie
Department of Gynecology, Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
The pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) has become a serious public health problem. Accurate diagnosis of regional pelvic floor muscle (PFM) malfunctions is vitally important for the prevention and treatment of PFD. However, there is a lack of reliable diagnostic devices to evaluate and diagnose regional PFM abnormality. In this work, we developed a multifunctional evaluation technology (MET) based on a novel airbag-type stretchable electrode array probe (ASEA) for the diagnosis of malfunctions of regional PFM. The inflatable ASEA has specifically distributed 32 electrodes along the muscles, and is able to adapt to different human bodies for tight contact with the muscles. These allow synchronous collection of high-quality multi-channel surface electromyography (MC-sEMG) signals, and then are used to diagnose regional PFM malfunctions and evaluate inter-regional correlation. Clinical trial was conducted on 15 postpartum stress urinary incontinence (PSUI) patients and 15 matched asymptomatic women. Results showed that SUI patients responded slowly to the command and have symptoms of muscle strength degeneration. The results were consistent with the relevant clinical manifestations, and proved the reliability of MET for multifunctional PFM evaluation. Furthermore, the MET can diagnose malfunctions of regional PFM, which is inaccessible with existing technology. The results also showed that the dysfunction of PSUI patients is mainly located in iliococcygeus, pubococcygeus, and urethral sphincter regions, and there is a weak correlation between these specific regions and nearby regions. In conclusion, MET provides a point-of-care diagnostic method for abnormal function of regional PFM, which has a potential for the targeted point-to-point electrical stimulation treatment and PFD pathology research.
