title: A low cost device for monitoring the urine output of critical care patients.
abstract: In critical care units most of the patients' physiological parameters are sensed by commercial monitoring devices. These devices can also supervise whether the values of the parameters lie within a pre-established range set by the clinician. The automation of the sensing and supervision tasks has discharged the healthcare staff of a considerable workload and avoids human errors, which are common in repetitive and monotonous tasks. Urine output is very likely the most relevant physiological parameter that has yet to be sensed or supervised automatically. This paper presents a low cost patent-pending device capable of sensing and supervising urine output. The device uses reed switches activated by a magnetic float in order to measure the amount of urine collected in two containers which are arranged in cascade. When either of the containers fills, it is emptied automatically using a siphon mechanism and urine begins to collect again. An electronic unit sends the state of the reed switches via Bluetooth to a PC that calculates the urine output from this information and supervises the achievement of therapeutic goals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Information and Communications Systems Engineering, University San Pablo CEU, and Cirtical Care Unit, University Hospital of Getafe, Boadilla del Monte 28668, Madrid, Spain. abraham.otero@usc.es
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Otero
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Palacios
authors.forename: Teodor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akinfiev
authors.forename: Andrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Apalkov
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003422:Critical Care / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D004864:Equipment and Supplies / Q000191:economics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008280:Magnetics; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D016482:Urinalysis / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014554:Urination / Q000502:physiology; D059349:Urine Specimen Collection / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation