Cost-effectiveness of pessary therapy versus surgery for symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse: an economic evaluation alongside a randomised non-inferiority controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of pessary therapy as an initial treatment option compared with surgery for moderate to severe pelvic organ prolapse (POP) symptoms in secondary care from a healthcare and a societal perspective.

Design: Economic evaluation alongside a multicentre randomised controlled non-inferiority trial with a 24-month follow-up.

Setting: 21 hospitals in the Netherlands, recruitment conducted between 2015 and 2022.

3D ultrasound strain imaging of puborectal muscle with and without unilateral avulsion.

Introduction And Hypothesis: The puborectal muscle (PRM), one of the female pelvic floor (PF) muscles, can get damaged during vaginal delivery, leading to disorders such as pelvic organ prolapse. Current diagnosis involves ultrasound (US) imaging of the female PF muscles, but functional information is limited. Previously, we developed a method for strain imaging of the PRM from US images in order to obtain functional information.

Unsupervised convolutional autoencoders for 4D transperineal ultrasound classification.

Purpose: 4D Transperineal ultrasound (TPUS) is used to examine female pelvic floor disorders. Muscle movement, like performing a muscle contraction or a Valsalva maneuver, can be captured on TPUS. Our work investigates the possibility for unsupervised analysis and classification of the TPUS data.

Effects of mesenchymal stem cells and heparan sulfate mimetics on urethral function and vaginal wall biomechanics in a simulated rat childbirth injury model.

Introduction And Hypothesis: New treatments are needed for pelvic floor disorders. ReGeneraTing Agent® (RGTA®) is a promising regenerative therapy. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare regenerative abilities of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and RGTA® on regeneration after simulated childbirth injury in rats.