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Publication Number
US-9314227-B2
Publication Date
2016-04-19
Expiration Date
Abstract
The present disclosure suggests an apparatus for determining at least one parameter in the vaginal channel of a user. The apparatus comprises a flexible pessary and a measurement unit comprising at least one sensor for measuring the at least one vaginal parameter. The measurement unit is reversibly mountable to the flexible pessary.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to an apparatus for determining at least one parameter in a vaginal channel. The apparatus includes a flexible pessary and a removable measurement unit comprising a housing, at least one sensor, and a transmitter unit, wherein the at least one sensor and the transmitter unit are arranged inside and enclosed by the housing.
The removable measurement unit housing is reversibly mountable to the flexible pessary, and the flexible pessary is reversibly deformable. The removable measurement unit is configured to be mounted after manufacture and to be removed together with the flexible pessary for insertion and removal in the vagina, while enabling exchange of the pessary.
The disclosed structure includes a rigid and sealed housing for the removable measurement unit, and an annular pessary made from a reversibly deformable flexible material. The annular pessary comprises a rigid and sealed housing receiving section, and the removable measurement unit is reversibly mountable to the annular pessary.
Claims Coverage
The document provides three independent claims covering an apparatus architecture and a user-facing method for determining at least one parameter in a vaginal channel using a removable measurement unit and a reversibly deformable annular flexible pessary. Across the independent claims, the inventive features center on reversibly mounting a sealed, rigid measurement unit onto a deformable flexible pessary, while enclosing sensor and transmitter structures within a sealed housing.
Flexible pessary with reversibly mountable removable measurement unit
A flexible pessary and a removable measurement unit comprising a housing, at least one sensor, and a transmitter unit, wherein the at least one sensor and the transmitter unit are arranged inside and enclosed by the housing; the housing is reversibly mountable to the flexible pessary; and the flexible pessary is reversibly deformable.
Rigid and sealed housing receiving section on annular pessary
An apparatus with a removable measurement unit comprising at least one sensor and a transmitter unit in a rigid and sealed housing and an annular pessary made from a reversibly deformable flexible material comprising a rigid and sealed housing receiving section, wherein the removable measurement unit is reversibly mountable to the annular pessary.
Method using reversible mounting to deformable flexible pessary
A method for determining at least one parameter in the vaginal channel by mounting a removable measurement unit comprising at least one sensor and at least one transmitter unit in a sealed housing to a reversibly deformable flexible pessary; placing the flexible pessary with the removable measurement unit in the vagina; determining the at least one parameter; removing the flexible pessary with the removable measurement unit from the vagina; and removing the removable measurement unit from the flexible pessary.
The independent claims cover a reversible interface between a deformable flexible annular pessary and a removable sealed measurement unit that encloses sensor and transmitter components, and a method that mirrors the mount-in-vagina-determine-remove-demount workflow for determining at least one parameter.
Stated Advantages
Provides comfort via a flexible polymeric pessary while keeping the measurement unit in a sealed housing.
Supports microbiological hygiene through a flexible pessary enabling exchange of the pessary while reusing the measurement unit.
Documented Applications
Determining at least one parameter in a vaginal channel using a flexible pessary and a removable measurement unit with sensors and a transmitter.
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