OC-020 QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF THE ABDOMINAL WALL MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR BY A NEW CONNECTED ABDOMINAL BINDER: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Abstract

Abstract Aim Abdominal wall hernias result from a mechanical conflict between forces acting on the wall (mainly intra-abdominal pressure (IAP)) and its ability to deform. An abdominal binder instrumented with sensors has been developed to non-invasively quantify the deformation during straining. Methods A prospective study was conducted on eight healthy subjects. External deformations were evaluated by a patented connected binder instrumented with resistive sensors covering anterolateral area. IAP was evaluated by intragastric ingested sensor (SmartPill™, Medtronic), and wall muscles deformation by dynamic MRI (semi-automated segmentation method applied to rectus abdominis (RA) and lateral muscle (LM)). The relationship between these signals has been investigated during Valsalva maneuver. Results The binder provided time-related mapping of the abdominal deformation. Two different patterns were individualized corresponding to RA and LM areas. Deformation rate (mean 1.21mV/s for RA and 1.66mV/s for LM) and maximum signal (mean 3.03mV for RA and 4.24mV for LM) were recorded. These binder patterns were both correlated with the deep deformation in abdominal muscles observed in MRI (Pearson R=0.89 for RA, and R=0.94 for LM; p<0.005). The binder patterns were also significantly correlated with the IAP variation (Pearson R=0.98 for RA and R=0.99 for LM; p<0.005). Conclusion This non-invasive connected and instrumented abdominal binder simply and quickly reflects the abdominal wall muscles deformation and IAP variation during Valsalva maneuver. A larger study is needed to investigate inter-individual variability, and to evaluate the links between quantitative mechanical behavior and surgical outcomes during hernia surgery.