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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Digit. Health
Sec. Connected Health
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2025.1569144
This article is part of the Research TopicUnconscious Monitoring of Physiological Information for Behavioral Changes in Daily Life: Advances in Sensor Technology and Data AnalysisView all 4 articles
Urine non-contact sensor that evaluates multiple urination using capacitance change to inform when to replace inner diaper
Provisionally accepted- 1Division of Bio-information Engineering, Department of Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
- 2Toyama Industrial Technology Research and Development Center, Toyama, Japan
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Using the toilet to excrete is important, which is a matter of human dignity. However, incontinent and bedridden elderly people who are unable to go to the toilet use disposable adult diapers. In this study, we developed a diaper sensor system that uses capacitance changes to quantitatively evaluate the volume of urine absorbed by diapers from different manufacturers and different approximate numbers of absorption (ANA) and to inform caregivers when to replace diapers. Three experiments, α: comparative verification by urination pattern, β: effect of ANA, and γ: evaluation by each diaper manufacturer, were conducted using a plastic torso filled with saline as a phantom. In addition, examine the actual urination time and urine absorption volume when the human wears a diaper; one volunteer wore inner and outer diapers, and pseudo-urine was infused via a tube. Overall, the results indicate that the accuracy of urine absorption volume estimation showed that the pattern of multiple infusions followed that of a single infusion. The results confirm that the diaper sensor system is highly versatile and independent of the urination pattern and diaper manufacturer. If the diaper sensor system is put into practical use, it is expected to provide quantitative information on when to replace diapers.
Keywords: diaper sensor system, Capacitance, Urination time, multiple urination, urine absorption volume
Received: 31 Jan 2025; Accepted: 07 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 SHICHITANI and NAKAJIMA. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Keisuke SHICHITANI, Division of Bio-information Engineering, Department of Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.