EVALUTION OF ERECTOMETER AS A NEW DIAGNOSTIC METHOD FOR IMPOTENCE

Abstract

An erectometer was reported as a simple tool for the measurement of nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT). The erectometer consisted of a band applied to the penile shaft, and showed an actual length of circumferential increase that may occur during sleep.
We have developed an erectometer suited to Japanese penile size, and obtained measurements of nocturnal erections on 23 impotent men and 6 normal males.
We compared the actual measurement of NPT by the erectometer with the strain gauge, and studied the reliability of the erectometer on the differential diagnosis of impotence. In 21 of 23 impotent men (91%) the results of erectometer were consistent with those of the strain gauge for the differential diagnosis of impotence.
Then we studied NPT in another 18 cases with both the erectometer and the stamp technique, described by Barry and associates as a simple screening test for organic impotence. The results of erectometer with those of stamp technique were compared in 2 of 18 cases (11%), who had breakage of the stamp ring but no indication of penile erection by erectometer over 3 nights.
The use of an erectometer is proposed as an effective procedure for differential diagnosis of impotence. This method is thought to give a more reliable quantitative measurement than the stamp technique.