Anthropometric measurements of the female perineum for design of the opening shape of urination device

• The five anthropometric parameters of the perineum were reported in Chinese women.
• This is the first attempt to scan the surface of the perineum to create a 3D model.
• Three relative positions of exterior urethral opening, ischial tuberosity, and anus were identified.
• Relationship between of the female urination device design and the perineum was proposed.

This study measured the anthropometric characteristics of the perineum among Chinese young women. The three-dimensional surface of the perineum was reconstructed to design an opening shape for a female urination device. Twenty-four young healthy females participated in this study. The width of the perineal furrow, the diameter of the ischial tuberosity, the distance from the exterior urethral opening to the anus, the distance from the exterior urethral opening to the tuberosities, and the distance from the tuberosities to the anus were measured using the Martin measurement approach. The perineum was then scanned using a three-dimensional scanner with raster display technology. The scanned data were used for three-dimensional shape reconstruction. From the measurements, three types of relative positions among the exterior urethral opening, ischial tuberosity, and anus were discovered. The results from this study not only advance our understanding of the anthropometric measurements of the perineum but also provide anthropometric information for the design of the opening shape of a female urination device.Relevance to industryThe anthropometric data collected in this work provide urination device designers with data for the length, width, and curvature of the perineum for the surface design of the opening part of female urination devices. The relationship between female urination devices design and perineum size proposed in this paper can provide design guidelines.