Vaginal Tactile Imaging in Assessment of Pelvic Floor Conditions Before the Delivery

Overview

The mechanical demands placed on the pelvic floor structures during vaginal delivery often exceed physiological tissue limits, resulting in maternal childbirth trauma, considerable postpartum morbidity, and increased risk of pelvic floor disorders(PFD). Injury to the perineum, vaginal supportive tissues, and pelvic floor muscles cause pain, infection, and dyspareunia, as well as pelvic organ prolapse(POP).Pregnancy and vaginal delivery are considered as a main risk factors in weakening the pelvic floor support and development of SUI, AI, and POP. CS is not only available countermeasure to reduce occurrence of obstetric trauma. Tactile imaging allows acquisition of 3D stress-strain data and 3D elasticity imaging or soft tissues.

The long - term of this project is to develop, validate, and integrate into clinical practice a new paradigm and a novel device to simultaneously measure the biomechanical properties of various pelvic structural components that are impacted during vaginal delivery, and to develop a risk prediction model of maternal birth injury. Ultimately, such a model will enable individualized patient counseling regarding the mode of delivery and/or the need for obstetrical interventions to reduce child birth trauma. The approach will utilize the vaginal tactile imaging technology that the investigators have developed and validated for clinical use. The benefits to physicians, patients and society are expected to be significant because the painful event in woman's life , given the large proportion of women suffer PFD caused by childbirth. This new system may open a new technical capability in woman's healthcare and change the established clinical practice.

Conditions