Continuous bladder volume monitoring system for wearable applications

In this research, we propose a bladder volume monitoring system that can be effectively applied for various voiding dysfunctions. Whereas conventional systems lack consecutive measurements, the proposed system can continuously monitor a user's status even during unconscious sleep. For the convenience, we design a simple and comfortable waist-belt-type device by using the body impedance analysis (BIA) technique. To support various measurement scenarios, we develop applications by connecting the device to a smartphone. To minimize motion noises, which are inevitable when monitoring over an extended period, we propose a motion artifact reduction algorithm that exploits multiple frequency sources. The experimental results show a strong relationship between the impedance variation and the bladder volume; this confirms the feasibility of our system.