阅读说明：本技术 液体体积测量装置 (Liquid volume measuring device ) 是由 H·延森 K·伯特森 于 2019-09-06 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种手持式体积测量装置,其被配置用于夹持在导尿管的一部分上,并用于测量一段时间内流过所述导尿管的尿液体积。(The present invention relates to a handheld volume measuring device configured for being clamped on a portion of a urinary catheter and for measuring a volume of urine flowing through said urinary catheter over a period of time.)

1. A handheld liquid volume measuring device configured to be clamped on a part of a urinary catheter and for measuring a volume of liquid flowing through the urinary catheter, the handheld volume measuring device having a housing (1) comprising

-a channel (6) through the housing (1), the channel being shaped and dimensioned to fit around a portion of the outer surface of the urinary catheter;

-liquid volume measuring means configured to measure the volume of liquid flowing through the urinary catheter over a period of time;

-user interaction means (11) for enabling and/or disabling the liquid measurement means;

-wireless transmission means allowing the transmission of data from the liquid volume measuring means to a personal terminal, such as a computer, tablet or smartphone; and

an energy source, such as a rechargeable battery.

2. The hand-held volumetric measuring device of claim 1, wherein the liquid volumetric measuring means comprises

-an ultrasound transmitting unit configured to transmit at least one ultrasound beam or ultrasound pulse through a portion of the catheter;

-an ultrasound receiving unit configured to receive at least one ultrasound beam or ultrasound pulse when the at least one ultrasound beam or ultrasound pulse has been transmitted through the catheter.

3. The handheld volume measuring device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a processing unit configured to receive data from the liquid volume measuring means and process the data to obtain processed data comprising a volume of liquid flowing through the urinary catheter over a period of time.

4. A hand-held volume measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wireless transmission means allows data from the liquid volume measuring means and/or processed data to be transmitted to a terminal, such as a computer, tablet or smartphone.

5. The hand-held volume measurement device according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the housing further comprises a display unit (10) configured to display processed data from the processing unit, including the volume of liquid flowing through the urinary catheter over a period of time.

6. The hand-held volume measurement device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the housing (1) has a longitudinal shape and is smaller than 15cm in all dimensions, such as smaller than 10cm in all dimensions.

7. The hand-held volumetric measurement device of any of claims 1-6, wherein the housing (1) comprises a first part (2) and a second part (3) pivotally connected to each other, and each part comprises a contact surface (4, 5) having a recess (7, 8) therethrough shaped and dimensioned to partially receive a urinary catheter.

8. The handheld volume measurement device of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the device has an open configuration and a closed configuration, wherein,

-in the open configuration, the first portion (2) and the second portion (3) are in contact with each other only through a pivotable section,

-in the closed configuration, the contact surfaces of the first and second parts (4, 5) are in contact with each other, such that the recesses (7, 8) through the first and second parts (2, 3) together enclose the channel (6) adapted to fit around a portion of the outer surface of a urinary catheter.

9. The hand-held volumetric measurement device according to any of claims 1-8, wherein the device further comprises a locking mechanism (9) configured such that in the closed configuration the first portion (2) and the second portion (3) are interlocked by the locking mechanism (9).

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a liquid volume measuring device configured for measuring a volume of liquid flowing through a urinary catheter.

Background

In certain urological conditions, patients need to use a urinary catheter to empty the bladder and/or equivalent. Sometimes, a urinary catheter user needs to collect information related to their urine output. Such information may include the volume and/or color of urine voiding, as well as the frequency with which they need to use a urinary catheter.

For example, in certain urological disorders, a patient may not be able to sense when the bladder is full and when it is desired to empty the bladder. Thus, especially at the beginning of their course, such catheter users need to know how often they need to empty their bladder, based on their fluid input, the size of their bladder, etc. However, such urine discharge is difficult for the user to obtain. Currently, urine measuring devices often include some sort of measuring cup into which the user is required to empty the contents of the urinary catheter, read the reading, and record the information. The user must hold the catheter, measuring device, pen and paper at the same time, and it is very inconvenient to carry these items with them. Furthermore, the measuring device must then be thoroughly cleaned.

Hence, an improved measuring device would be advantageous, in particular a more convenient measuring device, allowing a user to easily obtain urine output without having to carry many things with him.

The healthcare professional (e.g., doctor) can use this information to provide the best treatment and guidance to the user. However, the user's urine output is often kept secret. Thus, medical companies and hospitals do not have much user data relating to urine output of different user groups.

Further, it would be advantageous if such urine output data could be collected from users, so that users could get better guidance from doctors, and if urine output data could be obtained from individual or aggregate users using the present invention, medical companies could improve their products to different types of users with specific needs.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative to the prior art.

In particular, it is another object of the present invention to provide a urine measuring device which solves the above mentioned problems of the prior art.

Thus, in a first aspect of the invention, the above mentioned objects and several other objects are achieved by providing a handheld liquid volume measuring device configured to be clamped on a portion of a urinary catheter and for measuring a volume of liquid flowing through the urinary catheter, the handheld volume measuring device having a housing comprising

-a channel through the housing, the channel being shaped and dimensioned to fit around a portion of the outer surface of the urinary catheter;

-liquid volume measuring means configured to measure the volume of liquid flowing through the urinary catheter over a period of time;

-user interaction means for enabling and/or disabling the liquid measurement means;

-wireless transmission means allowing the transmission of data from the liquid volume measuring means to a personal terminal, such as a computer, tablet or smartphone; and

an energy source, such as a rechargeable battery.

In some embodiments, the liquid volume measuring device comprises

-an ultrasound transmitting unit configured to transmit at least one ultrasound beam or ultrasound pulse through a portion of the catheter;

-an ultrasound receiving unit configured to receive at least one ultrasound beam or ultrasound pulse when the at least one ultrasound beam or ultrasound pulse has been transmitted through the catheter.

In some embodiments, the device further comprises a processing unit configured to receive data from the liquid volume measuring means and to process the data to obtain processed data comprising a volume of liquid flowing through the urinary catheter over a period of time.

In some embodiments, the wireless transmission means allows data from the liquid volume measurement means and/or processed data to be transmitted to a terminal, such as a computer, tablet or smartphone.

In some embodiments, the housing further comprises a display unit configured to display processed data from the processing unit, including the volume of liquid flowing through the urinary catheter over a period of time.

In some embodiments, the housing has a longitudinal shape and is less than 15cm in all dimensions, for example less than 10cm in all dimensions.

In some embodiments, the housing comprises first and second sections pivotally connected to each other, and each section comprises a contact surface having a recess therethrough shaped and dimensioned to partially receive the urinary catheter.

Typically, urinary catheters, especially intermittent urinary catheters, have a size (diameter, circumference) of 8FR to 18 FR. FR (or french size or charriere (ch)) is a standard gauge of urinary catheters, roughly corresponding to the outer circumference (in mm). More precisely, the outer diameter (in mm) of the catheter corresponds to FR divided by 3. Thus, 8FR corresponds to a catheter with an outer diameter of 2.7mm, and 18FR corresponds to a catheter with an outer diameter of 6 mm.

In general, the length of the catheter, in particular the length of the intermittent catheter, is adapted to the intended gender such that male catheters are typically at least 35cm, e.g. between 35cm and 50cm, while female catheters are typically between 70mm and 150 mm.

In some embodiments, the device has an open configuration and a closed configuration, wherein,

in the open configuration, the first and second portions are in contact with each other only through the pivotable section,

-in the closed configuration, the contact surfaces of the first and second parts are in contact with each other, such that the recesses through the first and second parts together enclose the channel adapted to fit around a portion of the outer surface of the urinary catheter.

In some embodiments, the device further comprises a locking mechanism configured such that in the closed configuration, the first portion and the second portion are interlocked by the locking mechanism.

In a second aspect, the invention relates to a system comprising

Hand-held volumetric measuring device

A smartphone, tablet or computer equipped with application software programmed to receive and process data from the handheld volumetric measuring device,

wherein, based on the input information and/or machine learning, the application software is configured to inform a user of the system of a number of statistical data, for example, through a graphical user interface of a smartphone, tablet, or computer in which the application software is installed.

The statistical data may include the number of times a user urinates a day, the average urine volume per urination, and the maximum urination volume so far, etc.

Preferably, the user may interact with the application software via a smartphone, tablet or computer and submit further data in the application software.

The application software may be programmed so that each user has a profile in which they must enter basic information, such as name, country, sex, etc., and store data about body type + catheter user + brand + disease/condition type prior to using the application.

The application may further be programmed so that the user can input data on the intake (fluid + solid + drug). Such information may also be obtained from integration with third party applications, such as fitness trackers (exercise, sweating, etc.).

Data received from the liquid volume measuring device as well as data manually entered by the user (urine, urine condition, leakage, etc.) may be stored on the device. Since the volume and condition of urine is determined by intake (solid, liquid, medication) and physical exercise, this in turn means that if the user enters this data in conjunction with the output, the application will be able to process all the data about one user and provide a detailed overview about the individual user and aggregate data for all users using the present invention.

Application software may process data from the liquid volume measuring device of the present invention, calculate urine output and store the data.

The application software may further be programmed to provide statistical data such as tables, graphs, and other forms of reports on when, where, how much input/output the user has.

The application software can be programmed to learn the cause/effect and help the user keep an overview of the urination time and predict the optimal urination time based on intake, time and location through machine learning.

The software application may be such that the user can extract data and customize reports that can be shared with doctors and other third parties.

Further, the application can store aggregated data for all users, and can generate and share custom reports for medical research purposes.

The application software may also be programmed to send information from all users to a server or cloud, so that all information is collected and can be used for further statistics. The hospital or medical company can use this information, for example, to improve physician guidance and to improve products for different types of users with specific needs.

The first and second aspects of the invention may each be combined with any of the other aspects. These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from and will be elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

Drawings

A hand-held measuring device according to the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings illustrate one way of implementing the invention and should not be construed as limiting other possible embodiments that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Fig. 1A to 1D illustrate an embodiment of a handheld volume measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Referring to FIG. 1A, an embodiment of a handheld liquid volume measuring device according to the present invention is illustrated. The handheld liquid volume measuring device of the invention (also referred to as "the device") is configured to be clamped on a portion of a urinary catheter and to measure the volume of liquid flowing through the urinary catheter over a period of time. The handheld volume measuring device has a housing 1 which comprises a passage 6 through the housing 1. The channel 6 is shaped and dimensioned to fit around a portion of the outer surface of the urinary catheter. The dimensions of the channel 6 may vary depending on the urinary catheter used by a particular user.

As illustrated in fig. 1A, the housing 1 may have a longitudinal shape. Preferably, the device is less than 15cm in all dimensions, for example less than 10cm in all dimensions. In this way, the device is small enough to be transported in a bag or pocket and small enough to be operated by a user with one hand. However, the device cannot be too small, since it must contain different elements, such as an energy source large enough for long-term use. Preferably, the device is made of a material such as plastic, which allows the device to be dropped without breaking. Furthermore, the device must be waterproof.

As illustrated in fig. 1B, the housing 1 may comprise a first part 2 and a second part 3, which are pivotably connected to each other, e.g. by some kind of hinge. Both the first part 2 and the second part 3 comprise a contact surface 4, 5 having a recess 7, 8 through the parts 2, 3, the recess being shaped and dimensioned to partly receive the catheter. Thus, in the closed configuration of the device, the internal diameter of the recess may be between 2.7 and 6mm, which diameter reflects the usual dimensions of (intermittent) urinary catheters.

The device has an open configuration and a closed configuration. In the open configuration shown in fig. 1B, the first and second portions 2, 3 are in contact with each other only by a pivotable section (e.g., a hinge). In the closed configuration, as illustrated in fig. 1A, 1C and 1D, the contact surface 4 of the first part and the contact surface 5 of the second part are in contact with each other, such that the recesses 7, 8 through the first and second parts together enclose a channel 6 adapted to fit around a portion of the outer surface of the catheter. In this way, when the device is in the open configuration, the user can arrange the urinary catheter in the recess of the first or second part and close the device by pivoting the contact surfaces of the first and second part towards each other. Fig. 1C illustrates a perspective view of a device according to an embodiment of the invention, wherein a portion of the urinary catheter is arranged in the channel 6. Preferably, the device is configured such that it allows a user to hold the device in a closed configuration with one hand and open the device with one hand. Thus, the user can measure the volume of urine flowing through the catheter by clamping the device on the catheter before urination and then emptying the bladder using the normal procedure, holding the catheter comprising the device with only one hand. Furthermore, the device does not come into direct contact with urine, as it is clamped on the outer surface of the catheter. Thus, in many cases, the user does not need to clean the device after use.

As illustrated in fig. 1A and 1B, the device may further comprise a locking mechanism 9 configured such that in the closed configuration, the first portion 2 and the second portion 3 are interlocked by the locking mechanism 9. Preferably, the locking mechanism 9 is a simple locking mechanism, allowing the user to secure the device in the closed configuration with one hand and open the device with one hand.

Furthermore, the handheld liquid volume measuring device comprises a liquid volume measuring means (not shown) configured to measure the volume of liquid flowing through the catheter over a period of time. Preferably, the liquid volume measuring device measures the volume of urine passing through the catheter over a period of time using ultrasound, and measures the urination time based on a series of measurements over the entire urination period, thereby measuring the flow rate of urine. Thus, the liquid volume measuring device may comprise an ultrasound transmitting unit configured to transmit at least one ultrasound beam or pulse through a portion of the catheter and an ultrasound receiving unit configured to receive the at least one ultrasound beam or pulse when the at least one ultrasound beam or pulse has been transmitted through the catheter. The volume of liquid flowing through the catheter can then be calculated based on the data from the liquid volume measuring device as well as the diameter of the catheter and the density of the urine flowing through the catheter. In some embodiments, the liquid measurement device is an ultrasonic flow meter.

Preferably, the device comprises wireless transmission means (not shown) allowing data from the liquid volume measuring means to be transmitted to a terminal (e.g. a computer, tablet or smartphone) providing the processing power required to calculate the volume of liquid flowing through the catheter. The wireless transmission device may be, for example, a wifi, bluetooth or infrared connection device.

In some embodiments, the apparatus itself comprises a processing unit (not shown) configured to receive data from the liquid volume measuring device and to process the data to obtain processed data comprising the volume of liquid flowing through the urinary catheter over a period of time.

If the apparatus comprises a processing unit, the processed data may also be transmitted to a personal terminal (e.g. a computer, tablet or smartphone) via a wireless transmission device. Data from the liquid volume measurement device and/or processed data may also be transmitted or uploaded to a server or cloud.

As illustrated in fig. 1D, the apparatus may further comprise a user interaction device 11 and a display unit 10.

The display unit 10 may be configured to display processed data comprising the volume of liquid flowing through the catheter over a period of time.

The user interaction means 11 may be configured to enable and/or disable the liquid measurement means. The interaction means may for example be a button which when pressed activates the device, which comprises the liquid measuring means, and which when released does not activate the liquid measuring means.

The apparatus further comprises an energy source (not shown), such as a rechargeable battery, which provides power to the apparatus, such as the liquid volume measuring device and the wireless transmitter.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments, the invention should not be construed as being limited in any way to the examples presented. The scope of the invention is set forth in the appended claims. In the context of the claims, the term "comprising" or "comprises" does not exclude other possible elements or steps. Furthermore, references to "a" or "an," for example, are not to be construed as excluding a plurality. The use of reference signs in the claims with respect to elements shown in the figures shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention either. Furthermore, individual features mentioned in different claims may possibly be advantageously combined, and the mentioning of these features in different claims does not exclude that a combination of features is not possible and advantageous.

List of reference numerals

1 casing

2 first part of the housing

3 second part of the housing

4 contact surface of the first part

5 contact surface of the second part

6 channel

7 recess in first part

8 recess in second part

9 locking mechanism

10 display unit

11 user interaction device