Absorbent Article Voiding Sensor With Low-Power Remote Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Urinary incontinence patients often cannot or do not inform caretakers of voiding events, leading to potential skin irritation and other undesirable conditions, and existing systems fail to efficiently monitor multiple patients without tethering them to power sources.
Innovation Solution
A sensor system integrated into absorbent articles detects voiding events through impedance changes, transmitting data via low-power wireless communication to a remote monitoring device, allowing caretakers to be alerted and minimizing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If existing monitoring systems are used to monitor patients, then patient status can be tracked, but patients must be tethered to power sources which limits mobility and comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The absorbent article itself serves as the monitoring platform, with integrated sensors that detect voiding events and transmit data wirelessly. The system is self-powered through energy harvesting from the article's structure, eliminating the need for external power sources or batteries that would tether the patient.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical tethering to power sources with wireless communication technology. Sensors integrated into the absorbent article transmit patient status data wirelessly to remote monitoring devices, allowing patients to move freely without physical connections to power or monitoring equipment.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If caretakers are not notified of voiding events, then patients maintain independence, but skin irritation and undesirable conditions develop
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring functionality is merged directly into the absorbent article structure. Sensors, processors, and communication modules are integrated into the article itself, creating a unified system that detects voiding events and notifies caretakers automatically, preventing skin irritation without requiring separate monitoring devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automatic feedback loops where sensors detect voiding events, processors analyze the data, and notifications are automatically sent to caretakers' mobile devices. This closed-loop feedback system ensures timely notification while maintaining system simplicity through automated decision-making algorithms.
3Productivity
If multiple patients are monitored simultaneously, then healthcare efficiency improves, but system complexity and power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The absorbent article monitoring system is designed as a universal platform that can monitor multiple patients simultaneously. Each article is a self-contained monitoring unit that can be independently deployed, allowing scalable expansion from one to many patients without increasing individual article complexity. The wireless network infrastructure handles multiple connections efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system is segmented into independent modular units, with each absorbent article functioning as a separate monitoring node. This segmentation allows multiple patients to be monitored simultaneously through distributed architecture, where each article operates autonomously and communicates independently through the wireless network, avoiding centralized system complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively notifies caretakers of voiding events, reducing skin irritation risks and enabling efficient monitoring of multiple patients with minimal power usage, even when patients are physically separated from the monitoring device.
Implementation Method 1
an electrical circuit configured to be transitioned from a first impedance state to a second impedance state in response to a voiding event
Data Source
AI summary
In one example, a sensor system of a patient monitoring system includes a voiding sensor that includes an electrical circuit configured to be transitioned from a first impedance state to a second impedance state in response to a voiding event in an absorbent region of an absorbent article worn by a patient. The sensor system also includes one or more processors configured to:determine, based on whether the impedance state of the electrical circuit is open or closed, that the voiding event has occurred; and generate, based at least in part on the occurrence of the voiding event, patient status data of the patient. The sensor system also includes a communication module configured to wirelessly transmit, via a relay module, the patient status data to a remote monitoring device that is distinct from the relay module.