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13 pages, 1823 KB

Open AccessArticle

Wearable Personal Uroflowmeter for Measuring Urine Leakage in Women with Incontinence: Feasibility Study

by Ali Attari, Faezeh Shanehsazzadeh, Tana Kirkbride, Carol Day, John O. L. DeLancey and James A. Ashton-Miller

Biosensors 2025, 15(8), 481; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15080481 - 24 Jul 2025

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2597

Abstract

This paper describes a novel wearable personal uroflowmeter and its use to log urine leakage episodes in women. Consisting of a miniature flow rate sensor attached under the urethral meatus, it recorded both urine flow rate and volume during activities of daily living. The sensor communicated with a determining unit incorporating a microcontroller and an inertial measurement unit worn at the waist, facilitating the post-hoc determination of which activities and changes in pose caused leakage. Six women participated in a feasibility study performed in a clinical setting. The results indicate that the uroflowmeter was 97.5% accurate in assessing micturition flow compared to gold standard uroflowmetry and leakage measurements. The system also provides subject-specific information on the relationship between physical activity and urine leakage, thereby eliminating errors due to missing data and recall bias in bladder leakage diaries and circumventing the limitations of office-based uroflowmeters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Flexible and Wearable Biosensors)

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14 pages, 7370 KB

Open AccessArticle

Microwave Humidity Sensor for Early Detection of Sweat and Urine Leakage

by Lijuan Su, Paris Vélez, Pau Casacuberta, Jonathan Muñoz-Enano and Ferran Martín

Electronics 2023, 12(10), 2276; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12102276 - 18 May 2023

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3236

Abstract

A planar microwave sensor devoted to the detection of humidity in underwear and clothes in general is proposed. The ultimate goal of the sensor is to detect the presence of liquids in fabrics, which is of interest to aid patients who suffer from certain pathologies, such as hyperhidrosis and enuresis. The main target in the design of the sensor, considering the envisaged application, is simplicity. Thus, the sensor operates at a single frequency, and the working principle is the variation in the magnitude of the transmission coefficient of a matched line loaded with an open-ended quarter-wavelength sensing stub resonator. The stub, which must be in contact with the so-called fabric under test (FUT), generates a notch in the transmission coefficient with a resonance frequency that depends on the humidity level of the fabric. By designing the stub with a moderately high-quality factor, the variation in the resonance frequency causes a significant change in the magnitude level at the operating frequency, which is the resonance frequency when the sensing stub is loaded with the dry fabric, and the presence of liquid can be detected by means of an amplitude detector. A prototype device is proposed and experimentally validated. The measured change in the magnitude level by simply depositing one 50 μL drop of water in the FUT is roughly 25 dB. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Electronic Technologies for Biomedical Applications)

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11 pages, 4307 KB

Open AccessArticle

Anti-Biofouling Electrochemical Sensor Based on the Binary Nanocomposite of Silica Nanochannel Array and Graphene for Doxorubicin Detection in Human Serum and Urine Samples

by Ning Lv, Xun Qiu, Qianqian Han, Fengna Xi, Yina Wang and Jun Chen

Molecules 2022, 27(24), 8640; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27248640 - 7 Dec 2022

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 3223

Abstract

A disposable and portable electrochemical sensor was fabricated by integrating vertically-ordered silica mesoporous films (VMSF) and electrochemically reduced graphene (ErGO) on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE). Such VMSF/ErGO/SPCEs could be prepared by a simple and controllable electrochemical method. Stable growth of VMSF on SPCE could be accomplished by the introduction of an adhesive ErGO nanolayer owing to its oxygen-containing groups and two-dimensional (2D) planar structure. An outer VMSF layer acting as a protective coating is able to prevent the leakage of the inner ErGO layer from the SPCE surface. Thanks to the electrostatic permselectivity and anti-fouling capacity of VMSF and to the good electroactive activity of ErGO, binary nanocomposites of VMSF and ErGO endow the SPCE with excellent analytical performance, which could be used to quantitatively detect doxorubicin (DOX) in biological samples (human serum and urine) with high sensitivity, good long-term stability, and low sample amounts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis, Functionalization, and Sensing Applications of Diverse Dimensional Graphene Materials)

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18 pages, 3225 KB

Open AccessArticle

Boxer Underwear Incorporating Textile Moisture Sensor to Prevent Nocturnal Enuresis

by Valentin Gaubert, Hayriye Gidik and Vladan Koncar

Sensors 2020, 20(12), 3546; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20123546 - 23 Jun 2020

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 9329

Abstract

Around 15% of children still wet their bed after five years old. Although bedwetting alarms have proven to be effective to achieve nighttime dryness, they are cumbersome so children could be reluctant to use them. Therefore, the moisture sensor and wire were made unobtrusive by seamlessly integrated them into fully textile underwear by using conductive yarns. Consequently, the alarm acceptability should be enhanced by improving children’s comfort. Three conductive textile metallic yarns, made of silver or stainless steel, were considered to fabricate the urine leakage sensor. Silver-plated-nylon yarn, which showed the highest electrical conductivity, outperformed the stainless-steel yarns regarding its ability to detect urine leakage as well as its detection speed. Furthermore, it was proven to withstand multiple urine soakings and the following machine-washings, even at high temperature (60 °C). However, the electrical current, necessary to detect the leakage, tends to corrode the silver. Therefore, the detection circuit was adapted. Eventually, the designed leakage sensor was seamlessly integrated into a child’s trunk underwear, into which a miniaturized alarm can be plugged. The resulting textile underwear aims at replacing the rigid alarm system currently available, hence improving the quality of life of enuretic children and help them achieving nighttime dryness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue E-Textiles and Sensors)

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