Toward a minimally invasive bladder pressure monitoring system: Model bladder for in vitro testing

Urinary Incontinence significantly affects the quality of life of 13 Million adults in America. The current diagnosis methods are often uncomfortable and inconclusive, providing motivation for researchers to create a better diagnostic system. This work focuses on developing an alternative method for Cystometry, a Urodynamic test which collects pressure data. The design proposed in this paper is for a microrobotic pressure sensing system that is attached to the inside of the bladder wall to collect and wirelessly transmit pressure data over the period of 12-24 hours. In order to be able to test the miniature sensing device, a model urinary system was designed. A model bladder is incorporated into the model urinary system, and the whole system has been submitted to pressure tests to characterize filling and voiding behavior. A tethered pressure sensor was used to collect data. The trends and pressure profiles seen in traditional Cystometry results are closely mimicked by the model urinary system, which leads to the conclusion that the bladder model is a reliable way to collect pressure data and mimic a human bladder on a scaled level. The proposed microrobotic pressure sensing system has been designed and is to be fabricated using low power and low current components. The 11:5 mm × 17 mm × 8 mm (length×width×thickness) device is designed to be attached to the bladder wall versus a free floating designs, leading to a more accurate pressure data collection. The sensing system will allow all ranges of pressure data from inside the bladder to be captured wirelessly during a patient's normal daily routine. The collected pressure data is expected to depict typical bladder trends more efficiently than traditional methods and lead to more accurate diagnosis of incontinence.