Mechanically-assisted 3D ultrasound scanner for Urogynecological applications: preliminary results

Female pelvic floor dysfunction may manifest as pelvic organ prolapse (POP), urinary or fecal incontinence, pelvic pain or chronic constipation. POP is the descent of the pelvic organs into the vaginal cavity, affecting up to 50% of the female population. Diagnostic evaluation of POP is often performed via clinical examination (i.e. palpation). However, clinical examination is inefficient to assess structural abnormalities. There has been an increasing interest in the applications of ultrasound imaging for pelvic floor imaging to better understand the pathophysiology of pelvic floor dysfunction and POP. This is in part due to the recent developments in three-dimensional (3D) and 4D ultrasound imaging. However, despite its wide application in research, pelvic floor 3D ultrasound has not been employed in the clinic for the assessment of POP, which is likely due to the high cost of 3D ultrasound imaging systems. In this work, a cost-effective technique for acquiring 3D pelvic floor ultrasound images using a conventional 2D curvilinear probe is presented and compared against commercial 3D probes. This is achieved by a hand-held, mechanically-assisted 3D ultrasound scanner. This system has potential to decrease the cost of 3D pelvic floor ultrasound imaging and increase its application for POP assessment.