A multi-lumen catheter for monitoring uterine contraction pressure having an elongated body configured and dimensioned for insertion into a bladder of a patient, the catheter having a first lumen, a second lumen, and a first balloon at a distal portion, the first lumen communicating with the first balloon. The second lumen communicates with the bladder to remove fluid from the bladder. The first balloon is filled with a gas to form along with the first lumen a gas filled chamber to monitor pressure within the bladder to thereby monitor uterine contraction pressure of the patient.

A catheter to access and navigate the uterine cavity through the cervical canal for delivering, deploying, and facilitating operation of a peripheral intrauterine medical apparatus during parturition includes an elongated, flexible tubular catheter body with a handle at the proximal end controlling a steering mechanism and deflecting the distal tip. The catheter includes a lumen that extends the length of catheter body to a distal end region of the catheter. The peripheral medical apparatus is located in the distal end region and is configured to deploy from the distal tip of the catheter into the uterine cavity. A soft catheter tip reduces the likelihood of injury during intrauterine navigation and placement, and sensors associated with the catheter body provide signals that allow for the monitoring of infant, umbilical cord, placenta and uterine muscle activity during labor to assist operation of the peripheral medical apparatus.

Uterine activity tools and methods of use thereof. The uterine activity tools of this invention are designed to provide clinicians with information to evaluate uterine activity of a pregnant patient utilizing a fetal monitor with a tocodynamometer external pressure sensor (TOCO) and/or an intrauterine pressure catheter (IUPC). The tool of this invention displays vital information for assessment and documentation of uterine activity including date, time, mode, contraction frequency, contraction duration, contraction intensity, resting tone, relax time, calculated Montevideo units, and number of contractions in a selected time period.

A system for accessing a patient's uterine cavity and detecting perforations in the uterus includes an elongated probe having a flow channel extending to a terminal outlet in a distal region of the probe. A fluid source is coupled to the flow channel, and a seal on the probe is positionable in an endocervical canal. The probe may be trans-cervically inserted into the uterine cavity, and a fluid may be introduced through the channel to flow outwardly from the terminal outlet into the uterine cavity. A parameter of said fluid flow is monitored to detect a perforation in the uterus.

Systems and methods for adaptive, multi-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI], in which an MRI scan prescription is adaptively changed to acquire high-quality data from select regions-of-interest (ROI] in a larger field-of-view (FOV), are provided. The higher quality data can include data representing higher spatial resolution, higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR], increased diffusion encoding via repeated acquisition with a larger number of diffusion-encoding directions, and so on. A composite image can be generated that displays the higher quality images of the ROIs overlaid on the larger FOV.

An intrauterine pressure-sensing catheter for detecting pressure changes within the uterus of a patient is disclosed having a tube with a primary lumen extending from a proximal end to a distal end of the elongate tube. A monitor lumen is positioned within the elongate tube between the primary lumen and a wall of the elongate tube and extends from a proximal end of the elongate tube to a distal end of the elongate tube. A compliant balloon is disposed about an exterior of the elongate tube adjacent a distal end tip. A sleeve is slidably mounted on an exterior of the elongate tube and disposed over the compliant balloon during insertion of the catheter within the patient. The distal end tip is configured to prevent movement of the sleeve over the tip and is further configured to provide a zone of protection for the compliant balloon.

A method and system of providing therapy to a patient's uterus is provided, which can include any number of features. The method can include the steps of inserting a uterine device into the uterus and performing a uterine integrity test to determine that the uterus is intact and not perforated. If it is determined that the uterus is not perforated, a patency test can be performed to determine that the uterine device is not clogged or embedded in tissue. If the uterus is intact and the device is not clogged or embedded in tissue, the uterus can be treated with the uterine device, e.g., uterine ablation. Systems for performing these methods are also disclosed.

A catheter includes a distal distension balloon and circumferentially arranged motility measurement balloons proximal of the distension balloon. A manifold includes balloon ports each configured to fluidly couple to a motility measurement balloon, pressure transducer ports, and a priming port. A port selector is coupled to the manifold and movable between different positions. Each port selector position causes the manifold to establish different fluidic couplings between the respective motility balloon, pressure transducer, and priming ports. A pressure sensing device includes pressure transducers each fluidly coupled to one of the pressure transducer ports. The pressure sensing device is configured to coordinate calibration of the pressure transducers at atmospheric pressure with the port selector in a first position and motility balloon pressure measurements with the port selector in a third position. Priming of the motility measurement balloons is implemented by moving the port selector to a second position.

A method and system of providing therapy to a patient's uterus is provided, which can include any number of features. The method can include the steps of inserting a uterine device into the uterus and performing a uterine integrity test to determine that the uterus is intact and not perforated. If it is determined that the uterus is not perforated, a patency test can be performed to determine that the uterine device is not clogged or embedded in tissue. If the uterus is intact and the device is not clogged or embedded in tissue, the uterus can be treated with the uterine device, e.g., uterine ablation. Systems for performing these methods are also disclosed.

Disclosed herein are devices, systems, and methods related to monitoring intrauterine pressure. An example method may include inserting a catheter assembly into an uterus of a patient such that a sensor of the catheter assembly is placeable within the uterus and an expandable region is positioned to facilitate dilation of a cervix, the sensor is operable such that an intrauterine pressure measurement is obtainable while the expandable region is expanded. Also, the monitoring intrauterine pressure may include expanding the expandable region to facilitate dilating the cervix. Furthermore, the monitoring intrauterine pressure may include obtaining an intrauterine pressure measurement of an amniotic space of the uterus.