Smart Nursing Consumable with Porous Waterproof Layer for Excretion Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional nursing consumables lack sensing functions, making it difficult for caregivers to determine when they need to be changed, particularly for care receivers who cannot self-regulate excretions, leading to potential skin infections and reliance on personal judgment rather than objective monitoring.
Innovation Solution
A smart nursing consumable with a sensor module comprising wires and a conductive pad, integrated with a transceiver assembly that senses impedance changes to detect urination and excretion, and a physiological monitoring device that includes an impedance sensor and signal processing module to provide timely notifications and analyze physiological conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a conventional smart diaper uses a smooth waterproof layer with printed conductive resins, then the connection between the waterproof layer and transceiver assembly is easier, but feces cannot permeate to the conductive tape through the water-absorbing layer, so the conductive tape would not have an impedance change even when the care receiver has excreted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the smooth waterproof layer with a porous waterproof layer that has through-holes extending from the first surface to the second surface. This porous structure allows feces to permeate through the water-absorbing layer and reach the conductive tape, enabling impedance change detection for excretion events while maintaining ease of manufacturing through consistent layer integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure by integrating the porous waterproof layer, water-absorbing layer, and conductive tape into a unified multi-layer system. The conductive tape is formed by printing conductive resins on the porous waterproof layer, creating a composite material system that combines the functional properties of each layer for simultaneous manufacturing ease and detection accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If caregivers actively and physically touch the diaper to sense humidity, then they can determine when the diaper is dirty, but this depends primarily on personal experiences or feelings and caregivers may judge incorrectly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/manual method of touching and feeling the diaper with an electrical impedance sensing system. The conductive tape and transceiver assembly automatically detect impedance changes caused by urine or feces contact, converting the manual mechanical sensing operation into an automated electrical measurement system that provides objective and accurate detection without relying on caregiver experience or judgment.
Solution Approach 2:
The smart diaper system performs self-detection and self-notification functions. The impedance sensing system automatically monitors the diaper condition and notifies caregivers through the transceiver assembly when excretion occurs, eliminating the need for caregivers to actively check and judge diaper status, thereby enabling the system to serve itself in monitoring its own condition.
3Productivity
If conventional smart diapers can only notify the caregivers when to change but not sense or analyze each urination, then the determination of diaper change is realized, but physiological monitoring and prediction of excretions cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the smart diaper functionality from single-purpose diaper change notification to multi-functional physiological monitoring. The impedance sensing system detects not only when the diaper is dirty but also characteristics of each urination event, enabling both timely change notification and physiological analysis, thereby making the device versatile for multiple healthcare functions including monitoring, prediction, and assessment of care receiver conditions.
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
Facilitates accurate detection and prediction of excretions and physiological conditions, reducing the risk of skin infections and improving caregiver responsiveness by providing objective data on when to change nursing consumables and monitoring health indicators like heart rate and skin temperature.
Implementation Method 1
a transceiver assembly is used to sense the impedance changes of the conductive tape. When the water-absorbing layer absorbs certain amount of urine, some of the urine may permeate to the conductive tape and consequently the conductive tape has an impedance change
Implementation Method 2
a water-absorbing layer, and a transceiver assembly is used to sense the impedance changes of the conductive tape. When the water-absorbing layer absorbs certain amount of urine
Implementation Method 3
some of the urine may permeate to the conductive tape and consequently the conductive tape has an impedance change
Data Source
AI summary
A smart nursing consumable includes an absorbent body and a sensor module. The absorbent body includes a water-absorbing layer. The sensor module is disposed above the water-absorbing layer and includes a plurality of wires. A physiological monitoring device employing the aforementioned smart nursing consumable is also provided.