Project number
26070
Organization
Kidney ADVANCE Project - NIH/ACABI
Offering
ENGR498-F2025-S2026
Project Goal/Summary: The purpose of the present project is to build a quantitative urinary flow and function system for both home and hospital use. UroSMART will offer two new and novel features compared to existing technologies: 1. A Urodynamics capability - measuring urinary flow, urinary volume and total output for a given time with a simple system paired with a cell phone app for patient readout as well as transmission to care workers; 2. Neo Cath - an improved design urinary catheter, utilized when drainage is internal, with features of reduced pain and anti-infective properties for enhanced biocompatibility, patient comfort and experience. A quantitative urinary flow system amenable to home and hospital use will offer diagnostic and therapeutic benefit to the millions of patients suffering from a wide range of urologic and nephrologic disorders. This system will both help patients understand and improve the management of their disease, while providing enhanced information for rapid decision making by health care providers.
Project Background: Millions of patients in the United States and worldwide suffer from both upper and lower urinary tract diseases altering urinary output. To manage these patients, both acutely and chronically, understanding the dynamics of urinary output in terms of the flow rate of urine generation, and the total volume of urine produced over time is critical. For patients with chronic diseases in particular, quantitative measurement of urine output versus time by a simple means would go far to improve both patient understanding and self-management, as well as provide enhanced data for health providers to rapidly make decisions improving therapy. Presently no simple system exists to do this. Additionally, when internal catheterization for urinary drainage is needed current catheters are uncomfortable and have a notorious level of infection, with catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) occurring in up to 20 to 25% of patients! - being the most common cause of healthcare associated infection (HAI). The uroSMART system will address these two unmet needs improving care, reducing morbidity and mortality.
Requirements: Step1: Get up to speed - Team will research current urodynamic methods (largely hospital based); and catheter systems (internal and external) to outline gaps and limitations. Team will have the benefit of work done by a prior senior design team on the catheter aspect of the project. Step 2: Design and build urinary flow module - A small flow sensor that may be sterilized or disposable with digital capability to communicate to an app for phone or computer-based use. Step 3 - Design and build a digital urinary volume system - to measure urine volume collected directly (direct urination) or via catheter bag (catheter drainage external or internal), with a timing system measuring urine accumulation rate (for either external or internal drainage); and total urine output. Step 4 Residual urine determination system - simple sensor to be placed externally above the bladder to provide semi-quantitative information as to residual urine retained post voiding (applicable only for non-internally catheterized patients). Step 5 Neocath – improved internal drainage catheter with features of: matched tissue compliance for reduced abrasion and pain, reduced infection potential utilizing anti-infective polyurethanes - to be provided to the team. Step 6 – System integration - Data collection, Phone app, Heads-up display and Report generation – Integration system/app for use on smartphone or computer/heads up display integrating all sensor elements displaying: voiding volume (external), residual retained bladder volume (external), urinary output vs time, flow rate (internal use), output or flow rate graph vs time and total urinary output per 8 or 24 hours. Module will log data, generate useful report, communicate to providers/EHR.
Project Background: Millions of patients in the United States and worldwide suffer from both upper and lower urinary tract diseases altering urinary output. To manage these patients, both acutely and chronically, understanding the dynamics of urinary output in terms of the flow rate of urine generation, and the total volume of urine produced over time is critical. For patients with chronic diseases in particular, quantitative measurement of urine output versus time by a simple means would go far to improve both patient understanding and self-management, as well as provide enhanced data for health providers to rapidly make decisions improving therapy. Presently no simple system exists to do this. Additionally, when internal catheterization for urinary drainage is needed current catheters are uncomfortable and have a notorious level of infection, with catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) occurring in up to 20 to 25% of patients! - being the most common cause of healthcare associated infection (HAI). The uroSMART system will address these two unmet needs improving care, reducing morbidity and mortality.
Requirements: Step1: Get up to speed - Team will research current urodynamic methods (largely hospital based); and catheter systems (internal and external) to outline gaps and limitations. Team will have the benefit of work done by a prior senior design team on the catheter aspect of the project. Step 2: Design and build urinary flow module - A small flow sensor that may be sterilized or disposable with digital capability to communicate to an app for phone or computer-based use. Step 3 - Design and build a digital urinary volume system - to measure urine volume collected directly (direct urination) or via catheter bag (catheter drainage external or internal), with a timing system measuring urine accumulation rate (for either external or internal drainage); and total urine output. Step 4 Residual urine determination system - simple sensor to be placed externally above the bladder to provide semi-quantitative information as to residual urine retained post voiding (applicable only for non-internally catheterized patients). Step 5 Neocath – improved internal drainage catheter with features of: matched tissue compliance for reduced abrasion and pain, reduced infection potential utilizing anti-infective polyurethanes - to be provided to the team. Step 6 – System integration - Data collection, Phone app, Heads-up display and Report generation – Integration system/app for use on smartphone or computer/heads up display integrating all sensor elements displaying: voiding volume (external), residual retained bladder volume (external), urinary output vs time, flow rate (internal use), output or flow rate graph vs time and total urinary output per 8 or 24 hours. Module will log data, generate useful report, communicate to providers/EHR.