A device for automatic measurement of the critical, care patient's urine output

This paper presents a patent-pending device capable of recording and supervising the urine output of a critical care patient. The device is based on a high precision scale that measures the weight of a commercial urine meter. To isolate the device from the patient's movements, and to guarantee that the urine flows properly through the various tubes of the urine meter, we have designed a support frame made up of Bosch profiles. The scale's readings are captured by an electronic unit and sent to a PC via Bluetooth. A Java application running on the PC records them and supervises the therapeutic goals that the healthcare staff has established for the urine output, and warns of any deviation from these goals. This device does not break the sterility of the commercial urine meter and is easy to build with readily available components. Therefore, this solution is ideal to conduct a series of clinical studies based on a more continuous and accurate monitoring of urine output throughout the stay of a patient in a critical care unit.