Patent ID: 8651109

Claim:
A vaginal pessary sized and shaped for alleviating organ prolapse, comprising: (a) a body including at least two rib sections adapted to, at least in one state, extend along a vaginal axis and apply force to facing vaginal walls along axial extents thereof, wherein said body is adapted to be in at least two states: (i) a compressed state in which said body is sized for insertion into said vagina; and (ii) an expanded state in which said body is sized and stiff enough for providing organ prolapse alleviation and in which state said ribs extend along a vaginal axis and apply force to facing vaginal walls; (b) a stepped state changing mechanism integral to said pessary and configured to change a configuration of said body from the compressed state to the expanded state, which mechanism does not use fluid flow to cause state change; and, (c) a string coupled to the stepped state changing mechanism which when pulled causes the stepped shape changing mechanism to change from the expanded state back to the compressed state when the pessary is inside the vagina, wherein said pessary is configured to have only the two states which are both-stable, maintaining shape and size.