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Computational Analysis of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

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Women's Health and Biomechanics

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics ((LNCVB,volume 29))

Abstract

Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is characterized by the failure of the levator ani (LA) muscle to maintain the pelvic hiatus, resulting in the descent of the pelvic organs below the pubococcygeal line. This chapter adopts the modified Humphrey material model to consider the effect of the muscle fiber on passive stretching of the LA muscle. The deformation of the LA muscle subjected to intra-abdominal pressure during Valsalva maneuver is compared with the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination of a nulliparous female. Numerical result shows that the fiber-based Humphrey model simulates the muscle behavior better than isotropic constitutive models. Greater posterior movement of the LA muscle widens the levator hiatus due to lack of support from the anococcygeal ligament and the perineal structure as a consequence of birth-related injury and aging. Old and multiparous females with uncontrolled urogenital and rectal hiatus tend to develop PFDs such as prolapse and incontinence.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.rhino3d.com/.

  2. 2.

    http://www.salome-platform.org/.

  3. 3.

    http://www.code-aster.org.

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Acknowledgements

The two first authors have been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research through the FHprofUnt project “BINGO”, grant number 03FH073PX2.

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Author notes

  1. Ralf Frotscher

    Present address: TWT GmbH Science and Innovation, Stuttgart, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomechanics Laboratory, Institute of Bioengineering, FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Heinrich-Mußmann-Str. 1, Jülich, 52428, Germany

    Aroj Bhattarai, Ralf Frotscher & Manfred Staat

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  1. Aroj Bhattarai
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  2. Ralf Frotscher
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  3. Manfred Staat
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manfred Staat .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, CHSJ-EPE, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Sofia Brandão

  2. Department of Biomechanics, College of Health and Sport Science (CEFID), Santa Catarina State University (UDESC), Florianópolis, Brazil

    Thuane Da Roza

  3. Department of Radiology, CHSJ-EPE, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Isabel Ramos

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, CHSJ-EPE, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Teresa Mascarenhas

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Bhattarai, A., Frotscher, R., Staat, M. (2018). Computational Analysis of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. In: Brandão, S., Da Roza, T., Ramos, I., Mascarenhas, T. (eds) Women's Health and Biomechanics. Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics, vol 29. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71574-2_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71574-2_17

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