Forward-Looking Ultrasound Wearable Scanner System for Estimation of Urinary Bladder Volume

Abstract

Accurate measurement of bladder volume is an important tool for evaluating bladder function. In this study, we propose a wearable bladder scanner system that can continuously measure bladder volume in daily life for urinary patients who need urodynamic studies. The system consisted of a 2-D array, which included integrated forward-looking piezoelectric transducers with thin substrates. This study aims to estimate the volume of the bladder using a small number of piezoelectric transducers. A least-squares method was implemented to optimize an ellipsoid in a quadratic surface equation for bladder volume estimation. Ex-vivo experiments of a pig bladder were conducted to validate the proposed system. This work presents the potential of the approach for wearable bladder monitoring, which has similar measurement accuracy compared to the commercial bladder imaging system. The wearable bladder scanner can be improved further as electronic voiding diaries by adding a few more features to the current function.

Digital health innovations in urology: telemedicine, wearables, and mobile applications – a systematic review of literature

“…This experiment revealed a high average accuracy www.co-urology.com of 95.8%, proving that the proposed algorithm was solid. Jo et al [31] proposed a wearable bladder scanner system for urinary patients requiring urodynamic investigations that can continuously measure bladder volume in daily life. The system consisted of a two-dimensional array with forward-facing piezoelectric transducers on thin substrates.…”

Advances in Assistive Electronic Device Solutions for Urology

“…Furthermore, NIRS can be applied to many other urological conditions besides bladder monitoring-cryptorchidism, testicular torsion, erectile dysfunction, renal oxygenation, and muscle metabolism in renal dysfunction are among a few [88]. Ultrasound Scanner Systems Jo et al [89] have developed a wearable bladder scanner system that can continuously measure bladder volume in daily life. The system (Figure 5) consists of a two-dimensional ultrasound transducer 5 × 5 array, which includes integrated forward-looking piezoelectric transducers with thin substrates.…”

“…The wireless sensor system incorporates a microcontroller and Bluetooth, power management and several sensors such as electrocardiography (ECG) electrodes, a temperature sensor, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) unit. Data are processed directly onboard with a (i) (ii) Ultrasound Scanner Systems Jo et al [89] have developed a wearable bladder scanner system that can continuously measure bladder volume in daily life. The system (Figure 5) consists of a two-dimensional ultrasound transducer 5 × 5 array, which includes integrated forward-looking piezoelectric transducers with thin substrates.…”

“…The proposed method for estimating bladder volume has the advantage of being faster than contemporary methods but have the drawback of being cost-ineffective due to their scanning shape. Ultrasound Scanner Systems Jo et al [89] have developed a wearable bladder scanner system that can continuously measure bladder volume in daily life. The system (Figure 5) consists of a two-dimensional ultrasound transducer 5 × 5 array, which includes integrated forward-looking piezoelectric transducers with thin substrates.…”

A Wireless Implantable Microsystem for Real-Time Bladder Volume Monitoring

“…BV estimation using Amode ultrasound, i.e., by using data from a small number of transducers and scan lines (Fig. 2(b)), reduces the hardware complexity [6]. Commercial wearable BV sensors such as Novioscan [7] and DFree [8] use an A-mode approach based on 1-4 transducers.…”