Biomechanical Characterization of uterine contractions

New physiopathological descriptions associate some recursive complications of endometriosis to a contractile dysfunction of the uterine wall which may modify the physiological pressure gradients inside the chamber. To test this theory it is necessary to develop a device able to measure continuously the intrauterine pressures and to refer the recordings to the anatomical behaviour. This paper describes the setup we have developed, that permits to collect the intrauterine pressure profiles at four different levels. The problem was studied in all the mechanical and electronic aspects, in order to have a pressure recording not dependant by the anatomical condition and a stable analog signal. The prototype catheter was designed with 4 pressure water filled limes, and the signal acquisition module was oriented to maximal simplicity. With this set-up it was possible to measure the temporal evolution of pressure gradients during the uterine wall contractions and to evaluate if the intracavity pressure gradients are in the right sequence and of correct amplitude. This study is continuing and it will be completed with morphological information, to obtain finite elements simulations of normal and pathological uterine biomechanics.