BIOFEEDBACK SYSTEM FOR URINARY & FECAL INCONTINENCE

URINARY AND FECAL INCONTINENCE AFFECTS 19 PERCENT OF AMERICANS OVER AGE 60, INCLUDING 45 PERCENT OF THOSE IN GERIATRIC INSTITUTIONS. GERIATRIC INCONTINENCE CARE ALONE IS ESTIMATED AT $8 BILLION ANNUALLY. RESEARCH HAS SHOWN BIOFEEDBACK TRAINING TO BE A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TREATMENT. A RECENT PROJECT PRODUCED AN 87-PERCENT REDUCTION IN URINARY EPISODES AFTER AN AVERAGE OF ONLY 3.5 SESSIONS. A BIOFEEDBACK SYSTEM HAS BEEN DESIGNED AND BREADBOARDED, INTEGRATING PROVEN CLINICAL MEASURES WITH HIGHLY EVOLVED VISUAL AND AUDITORY FEEDBACK FORMS. IT IS THE FIRST BIOFEEDBACK INSTRUMENT TO ADDRESS THE ENTIRE PELVIC FLOOR, AND BOTH URINARY AND FECAL INCONTINENCE, WHICH FREQUENTLY COEXIST. LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES ARE TO: (1) ESTABLISH A TREATMENT SYSTEM FOR INCONTINENCE SUFFERERS; (2) PROVIDE INDEPENDENCE AND A HIGHER LIVING STANDARD FOR THOSE AFFLICTED BY INCONTINENCE; AND (3) DEVELOP OTHER APPLICATIONS, SUCH AS SEXUAL FUNCTION, FOR THIS SYSTEM. PHASE I CONSISTS OF OBTAINING THE CRITIQUES AND SUGGESTIONS OF LEADING CLINICIANS, AND INTEGRATING THIS INPUT INTO THE BREADBOARD SYSTEM TO OBTAIN A SUITABLE CLINICAL PROTOTYPE. CLINICAL TRIALS AND THE DESIGN OF THE COMMERCIAL INSTRUMENT WILL BE CARRIED OUT IN PHASE II.