Patent Application
20220296140
Measuring urinary flow, measuring urinary volume and urine sample collection can be difficult for ambulatory patients. Many systems require patients to use two separate systems for urinary flow measurement and measuring urinary volume and urine sample collection. Furthermore, many urine hats rest on a toilet seat and can move when a patient sits on the toilet seat, leading to spillage, mess, loss of sample or the need to secure the urine hat to the seat. It would be beneficial to patients and clinicians to have one system that measured urinary flow, measured urinary volume, and allowed for urine sample collection. Disclosed herein is a system, apparatus and method that address the foregoing.
Disclosed herein is a urinary output monitoring system configured to measure urinary flow or collect and measure a volume of fluid. The urinary output monitoring system includes a receptacle having a receptacle body configured to receive or hold a volume of fluid, the receptacle body having a plurality of volume markings. The receptacle body includes a proximal portion including two lateral flaps and one front rigid flap, each flap extending from the proximal portion and configured to secure the receptacle to a sanitary hardware device to prevent unwanted movement when engaged by a user, and a distal portion including an opening and a mating portion extending from the distal portion, the mating portion configured to detachably couple an attachment.
In some embodiments, the attachment includes a reusable flow meter or a cap.
In some embodiments, the flow meter includes a pinwheel flow meter having a proximal end including a proximal opening, the proximal end having a threaded portion configured to detachably couple to the mating portion, a distal opening, a lumen having a pinwheel within the lumen, the pinwheel having a magnet, and a Hall-effect sensor.
In some embodiments, the Hall-effect sensor is in wireless communication with a console, or wired to the console, the console including a processor, an energy source, and non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of logic modules.
In some embodiments, the plurality of logic modules, when executed by the processor, are configured to perform operations including activating the Hall-effect sensor, detecting and acquiring a plurality of pulses from the magnet over a unit of time, associating the plurality of pulses with a rate of flow value, associating the rate of flow value with a time of day value in a rate of flow value-time of day value pairing, storing the rate of flow-time of day value pairings, and transmitting the rate of flow-time of day pairings to a computing device.
In some embodiments, the console is in wireless communication with a computing device.
In some embodiments, the threaded portion of the pinwheel flow meter includes an external threaded portion or an internal threaded portion.
In some embodiments, the cap, when coupled with the mating portion, is configured seal a volume of fluid within the receptacle.
In some embodiments, the receptacle body includes an inverse truncated elliptical cone.
In some embodiments, each of the two lateral flaps include a score line configured to allow each flap to fold downward to couple with a sanitary hardware device.
In some embodiments, the sanitary hardware device includes a toilet.
In some embodiments, the mating portion of the receptacle body includes internal threads or external threads.
Also disclosed herein is a method of measuring urinary flow including coupling a flow meter to a mating portion of a receptacle, coupling the receptacle to a sanitary hardware device, acquiring a volume of fluid within the receptacle, and measuring the flow rate of the volume of fluid using the flow meter.
In some embodiments, coupling the flow meter to the mating portion of the receptacle includes the receptacle having a receptacle body having a proximal portion including two lateral flaps and one front rigid flap extending from the proximal portion, a distal portion having an opening and the mating portion extending therefrom, the mating portion having threads configured to detachably couple a reusable flow meter.
In some embodiments, coupling the flow meter to the mating portion of the receptacle includes detachably coupling a reusable pinwheel flow meter having a proximal end having a proximal opening, the proximal end having a threaded portion configured to couple to the mating portion, a distal opening, a lumen having a pinwheel, and a Hall-effect sensor in communication with a console including a processor, an energy source and non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of logic modules.
In some embodiments, coupling the flow meter to the mating portion of the receptacle includes detachably coupling the reusable flow meter to the mating portion with a press fit, a twist fit, a snap fit or an interference fit.
In some embodiments, coupling the receptacle to the sanitary hardware device includes folding each of the two lateral flaps downward along a score line to couple each lateral flap to a side of the sanitary hardware device, and coupling the front rigid flap to a front of the sanitary hardware device.
Also disclosed herein is a method of measuring and collecting urinary output including coupling a cap to a mating portion of a receptacle, coupling the receptacle to a sanitary hardware device, acquiring a volume of fluid within the receptacle, and measuring the volume of fluid within the receptacle using a plurality of volume markers.
In some embodiments, coupling the cap to the mating portion of the receptacle includes coupling the cap to the mating portion having threads thereon with a press fit, a twist fit, a snap fit or an interference fit.
In some embodiments, coupling the receptacle to the sanitary hardware device includes folding each of two lateral flaps and a rigid front flap downward along a score line to couple the receptacle to the sanitary hardware device.
In some embodiments, measuring the volume of fluid within the receptacle using the plurality of volume markers includes visually determining the volume of fluid using the plurality of volume markers.
These and other features of the concepts provided herein will become more apparent to those of skill in the art in view of the accompanying drawings and following description, which describe particular embodiments of such concepts in greater detail.
A more particular description of the present disclosure will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof that are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. Example embodiments of the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
Before some particular embodiments are disclosed in greater detail, it should be understood that the particular embodiments disclosed herein do not limit the scope of the concepts provided herein. It should also be understood that a particular embodiment disclosed herein can have features that can be readily separated from the particular embodiment and optionally combined with or substituted for features of any of a number of other embodiments disclosed herein.
Regarding terms used herein, it should also be understood the terms are for the purpose of describing some particular embodiments, and the terms do not limit the scope of the concepts provided herein. Ordinal numbers (e.g., first, second, third, etc.) are generally used to distinguish or identify different features or steps in a group of features or steps, and do not supply a serial or numerical limitation. For example, “first,” “second,” and “third” features or steps need not necessarily appear in that order, and the particular embodiments including such features or steps need not necessarily be limited to the three features or steps. Labels such as “left,” “right,” “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” and the like are used for convenience and are not intended to imply, for example, any particular fixed location, orientation, or direction. Instead, such labels are used to reflect, for example, relative location, orientation, or directions. Singular forms of “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
The term “logic” may be representative of hardware, firmware or software that is configured to perform one or more functions. As hardware, the term logic may refer to or include circuitry having data processing and/or storage functionality. Examples of such circuitry may include, but are not limited or restricted to a hardware processor (e.g., microprocessor, one or more processor cores, a digital signal processor, a programmable gate array, a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit “ASIC”, etc.), a semiconductor memory, or combinatorial elements.
Additionally, or in the alternative, the term logic may refer to or include software such as one or more processes, one or more instances, Application Programming Interface(s) (API), subroutine(s), function(s), applet(s), servlet(s), routine(s), source code, object code, shared library/dynamic link library (dll), or even one or more instructions. This software may be stored in any type of a suitable non-transitory storage medium, or transitory storage medium (e.g., electrical, optical, acoustical, or other form of propagated signals such as carrier waves, infrared signals, or digital signals). Examples of a non-transitory storage medium may include, but are not limited or restricted to a programmable circuit; non-persistent storage such as volatile memory (e.g., any type of random access memory “RAM”); or persistent storage such as non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory “ROM”, power-backed RAM, flash memory, phase-change memory, etc.), a solid-state drive, hard disk drive, an optical disc drive, or a portable memory device. As firmware, the logic may be stored in persistent storage.
The term “computing device” should be construed as electronics with the data processing capability and/or a capability of connecting to any type of network, such as a public network (e.g., Internet), a private network (e.g., a wireless data telecommunication network, a local area network “LAN”, etc.), or a combination of networks. Examples of a computing device may include, but are not limited or restricted to, the following: a server, an endpoint device (e.g., a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet, a “wearable” device such as a smart watch, augmented or virtual reality viewer, or the like, a desktop computer, a netbook, a medical device, or any general-purpose or special-purpose, user-controlled electronic device), a mainframe, internet server, a router; or the like.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.
In some embodiments, the mating portion 132 may include one or more threads configured to couple the attachment to the mating portion 132. In some embodiments, the one or more threads may include external threads or internal threads. In some embodiments, the receptacle 120 is configured to couple to a sanitary hardware device, including a seat of the sanitary hardware device and be suspended from the seat of the sanitary hardware device. As used herein, the sanitary hardware device includes a toilet. The proximal portion of the receptacle body 122 includes a plurality of flaps extending therefrom including two or more lateral flaps 134. In some embodiments, the receptacle 120 may be 3D printed, extruded, injection molded, or the like.
In some embodiments, the receptacle 120 may include a plurality of volume markings 138 within the receptacle 120. The plurality of volume markings 138 may be used by the user to measure the volume of fluid collected within the receptacle 120. In some embodiments, the plurality of volume markings 138 may be located towards the back, the front, the left, the right or a combination thereof. The plurality of volume markings 138 may be measured in fluid ounces or milliliters. In some embodiments, the plurality of volume markings 138 may be etched, engraved, stenciled, printed or the like on the receptacle 120.
The flow meter 140 may be wired to the console 160 or in wirelessly communication with the console 160. Exemplary wireless communication modalities can include WiFi, Bluetooth, Near Field Communications (NFC), cellular Global System for Mobile Communication (“GSM”), electromagnetic (EM), radio frequency (RF), combinations thereof, or the like. In some embodiments, the console 160 may be located within the flow meter 140, coupled to the outside of the flow meter 140 or the like. In some embodiments, the console 160 includes one or more processors 162, one or more energy sources 164 configured to provide energy to the console 160 and to the Hall-effect sensor 154, and non-transitory computer-readable medium (“memory”) 165 having a plurality of logic modules. In some embodiments, the plurality of logic modules may include one or more of: a sensor activation logic 166, a sensor acquisition logic 168, a sensor determination logic 170, a sensor data store 174, and a communications logic 172. In some embodiments, the Hall-effect sensor activation logic 166 may be configured to activate the Hall-effect sensor 154. In some embodiments, the Hall-effect sensor 154 may be activated whenever the flow meter 140 is coupled to the receptacle 120. In some embodiments, the Hall-effect sensor acquisition logic 168 may be configured to detect and acquire a plurality of pulses from the Hall-effect sensor 154 over a unit of time. In some embodiments, the Hall-effect determination logic 170 may be configured to determine the flow rate of the volume of fluid passing through the flow meter 140. In some embodiments, the Hall-effect determination logic 170 may associate the plurality of detected pulses with the unit of time the plurality of pulses were detected in a rate of flow value and associate the rate of flow value with a time of day value in a {rate of flow value, time of day value} pairing. The Hall-effect determination logic 170 may further convert the rate of flow value to a metric system value in liters/second. In some embodiments, the communications logic 172 may be configured to transmit the {rate of flow value, time of day value} pairing to a computing device, an electronic medical record, or the like. In some embodiments, the Hall-effect data store 174 may be configured to store the {rate of flow value, time of day} pairings.
Once the flow meter 140 is coupled to the receptacle 120, the receptacle 120 may be coupled to the toilet 110, as illustrated in
Once the cap 180 is coupled to the mating portion 132 of the receptacle 120, as illustrated in
The method 200 further includes coupling the receptacle 120 to the sanitary hardware device 110 (block 204). In some embodiments, coupling the receptacle to the sanitary hardware device 110 includes coupling the receptacle to a seat 112 of the sanitary hardware device 110 in that the receptacle body 122 is suspended within a bowl 114 of the sanitary hardware device 110. In some embodiments, coupling includes detachably securing the rigid front flap 136 to the front of the sanitary hardware device 110. In some embodiments, coupling includes folding the two or more lateral flaps 134 downward, each along a score line, to further couple the receptacle 120 to the seat 112. The method 200 further includes acquiring a volume of fluid within the receptacle 120 (block 206). In some embodiments, acquiring includes a user disposing of a volume of urine within the receptacle 120. The method 200 further includes measuring the volume of acquired fluid using the flow meter 140 (block 208). In some embodiments, measuring includes passing the volume of fluid through the flow meter 140 to measure the urinary flow. In some embodiments, measuring includes transmitting a measured urinary flow data to the computing device.
While some particular embodiments have been disclosed herein, and while the particular embodiments have been disclosed in some detail, it is not the intention for the particular embodiments to limit the scope of the concepts provided herein. Additional adaptations and/or modifications can appear to those of ordinary skill in the art, and, in broader aspects, these adaptations and/or modifications are encompassed as well. Accordingly, departures may be made from the particular embodiments disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the concepts provided herein.
This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/154,549 filed Feb. 26, 2021, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety into this application.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63154549 | Feb 2021 | US |
