{"id":91,"date":"2021-04-05T12:17:17","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T16:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seniordesign.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/bme2021\/?p=91"},"modified":"2022-04-13T10:07:49","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T14:07:49","slug":"urine-detection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hajim.rochester.edu\/senior-design-day\/urine-detection\/","title":{"rendered":"Urine Detection: Detection with Dignity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Product in development: DigniTection<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Problem Statement<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Background<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
CUSTOMER NEEDS<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
dESIGN cOMPONENTS<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
exISTING deVICES<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
oUR deVICE<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Testing and EVALUATION<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
cUSTOMER fEEDBACK<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
eNVIRONmental considerations<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Next Steps<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Team Members<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Acknowledgments<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
REFERENCES<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Problem Statement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many existing urine detection devices used in hospitals do not consistently notify nurses or caretakers when patients experience an episode of incontinence. Our mission is two-fold: 1) design a device that will accurately detect urinary incontinence, and 2) send a discrete<\/em> notification to the nurse’s station to notify them of this incontinence episode; thus ensuring detection with dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Incontinence is a medical term used to describe the involuntary leakage of urine from the bladder (urinary incontinence) or feces from the bowel (fecal incontinence). Urinary incontinence is common among the elderly (geriatric) population, and is also a common symptom of patients with brain or spinal cord injuries. Incontinence can cause increased susceptibility to skin irritation and subsequent degradation, pressure sores, and UTIs (Markland et al., 2011). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For patients undergoing neurorehabilitation, detecting and potentially preventing incontinence is a priority. At the neurorehabilitation unit at Strong Memorial Hospital (Rochester, NY), many patients are bedridden and experience incontinence episodes, requiring a diaper change. At night, a low nurse-to-patient ratio makes it challenging for nurses or overnight staff to check on patients’ diapers in a timely manner. With our product, DigniTection<\/strong>, we aim for nurses to be notified quickly of patients experiencing an incontinence episode, so they can have their diapers changed quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Customer Needs\/Specifications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to our customer, DigniTection<\/strong> must:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Detect<\/span> all urinary incontinence episodes without error. <\/li>
  2. Notify<\/span> nurses within 30 seconds following an incontinence episode.<\/li>
  3. Communicate<\/span> that an incontinence episode has occurred to the patient, nurses, and concerned parties.<\/li>
  4. Fit Comfortably<\/span> for a patient who is lying down in bed. Use of the product should not lead to pressure sores for the patient.<\/li>
  5. [Be] Set Up Easily<\/span> to allow for communication between the sensor and the nurse’s station.<\/li>
  6. [Be] Biocompatible<\/span> to not affect skin integrity <\/li>
  7. Deliver a Subtle Signal<\/span> to ensure patient dignity and maintain privacy. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

    Design Components<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    The design system that we decided to prototype was adapted by Lazaro et al. and shows each part of the overall design scheme. The copper electrodes have a capacitance across them that changes upon the introduction to moisture. There is a microcontroller with both input (TX pin) and output (RX pin). The microcontroller is powered by the inductive electromagnetic field from the NFC IC chip. Then, the NFC will activate an NFC-compatible reader (Lazaro et al., 2019).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n