Continuous bladder volume monitoring system for wearable applications

Abstract

In this research, we propose a bladder volume monitoring system that can be effectively applied for various voiding dysfunctions. Whereas conventional systems lack consecutive measurements, the proposed system can continuously monitor a user's status even during unconscious sleep. For the convenience, we design a simple and comfortable waist-belt-type device by using the body impedance analysis (BIA) technique. To support various measurement scenarios, we develop applications by connecting the device to a smartphone. To minimize motion noises, which are inevitable when monitoring over an extended period, we propose a motion artifact reduction algorithm that exploits multiple frequency sources. The experimental results show a strong relationship between the impedance variation and the bladder volume; this confirms the feasibility of our system.

A realistic pelvic phantom for electrical impedance measurement

“…The 3D surface model was then scaled by 0.516 to allow for rapid prototyping (3D printing) on a Ultimaker 2 Extended+ (Ultimaker, Geldermalsen, Netherlands). This scale makes the model suitable for use in urinary applications for children using electrical impedance (Shin et al, 2017) and as a near-half scale model of an adult male.…”

“…Bladder volume monitoring using electrical impedance (EI) techniques has been studied in simulation , with simplified tank-based measurements (He et al, 2012;, on animals (Denniston and Baker, 1975;Zariffa et al, 2016), and on humans (Kim et al, 1998;Leonhardt et al, 2011;Liao and Jaw, 2011;Zariffa et al, 2016, Shin, et al, 2017. Human studies have shown strong correlation of bladder volume with the processed EI data (Leonhardt et al, 2011;Li et al, 2016), highlighting the feasibility of EI to continuously monitor bladder volume in clinical situations.…”

“…Bladder volume monitoring using EI offers the potential to aid paraplegic patients, those suffering from urological diseases or those who have lost bladder control by alerting the individual/carer before urination. Bladder volume monitoring using EI also has the potential to act as a support tool for children with nocturnal enuresis (Shin, et al, 2017). Therefore, this intervention has the potential to preserve the individual's dignity, aid their quality of life and prevent subsequent medical problems such as urinary tract infections, urinary reflux, or renal failure (Li et al, 2016).…”

Forward-Looking Ultrasound Wearable Scanner System for Estimation of Urinary Bladder Volume

“…Recently, studies on wearable non-invasive measuring equipment have been conducted using near-infrared spectroscopy [ 12 , 13 ], bioimpedance [ 14 , 15 ], and ultrasound [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Near-infrared spectroscopy and bioimpedance techniques assume that the optical and electrical properties of pelvic organs are constant and that variations in measurements result from changing the amount of urine in the bladder.…”

A Small 8-Electrode Electrical Impedance Measurement Device for Urine Volume Estimation in the Bladder

“…The electrodes used for EI measurement can be woven into underwears (textrode), thereby overcoming the limitations of the size faced by existing ultrasound devices. The miniaturization of EI measurement devices is crucial for implementing them as a clinically applicable urine volume estimation tool, and several studies have developed wearable sensors [6], [7]. However, a tradeoff exists between portability, wearability, and estimation accuracy.…”