Intravaginal surface EMG probe design test for urinary incontinence patients

Pelvic floor training is a well-established treatment for female urinary stress incontinence The purpose of this study was to test four different intravaginal surface electromyography (EMG) probes for biofeedback exercise and measurements. The study design was a comparison test. The study was accomplished in a referral on outpatient clinic. Participants were 9 urinary incontinent patients sent to physiotherapist for pelvic floor muscle exercise and 2 asymptomatic volunteers. The participants were asked to do pelvic floor contractions in supine position. The EMG activity of pelvic floor muscles was measured with four different types of intravaginal probes, and rectal pressure was measured simultaneously with a microtip catheter for controlling the pelvic floor muscle contraction force levels. Main outcome measure was the electrical activity of pelvic floor muscle contractions. The intraprobe correlation coefficients for comparing subsequent measurements ranged from 0.84-0.97, indicating adequate reliability. The results were affected by the location of the measuring electrodes, and the shape and size of the probes. No statistically significant differences were found between different probes. The compliance was best with L- shaped probe B and it gave highest mean EMG values so it was chosen for M- further development as a biofeedback-based home training system.