PROFILOMETER

Typical Number in Hospital: 1

Cost Bands: 4

References:

Although this term could have other meanings, in medical equipment it usually refers to a device for recording the profile of urethral closure pressure along its length. The apparatus consists of a catheter puller, to draw a pressure measuring catheter along the length of the urethra, and a mechanism to record the urethral wall pressure. This may be a tiny pressure transducer mounted on the side or tip of the recording catheter, or an external pressure transducer linked via tubing to a side hole in the urethral catheter through which a small (e.g. 2 ml/min) flow of water or saline is maintained.

The apparatus may be self contained or incorporated into a general urodynamic test set. Such devices are found in the urology, gynaecology, or X-ray department.