Smart artificial urinary sphincters: Implementation challenges

Stress urinary incontinence is a complication that considerably affects patient quality of life. When conservative measures are not sufficient for recovering patient's continence, urologists suggest the implantation of an artificial urinary sphincter (AUS). The AMS 800 has been the gold standard AUS for more than 35 years now. This hydro mechanical device mimics the behavior of a healthy sphincter. However, it suffers from several limitations reported by medical studies and follow up. In this paper, we present our concept of the smart AUS. The latter corrects the limitations and extends the capabilities of current AUSs. We report here-in three different versions of the smart AUS. Each version integrates novel capabilities and unique features. Each device is presented and its experimentation results are detailed. Design challenges are discussed and technological barriers for the further development of actual AUSs are explained.