Do you REALLY need to wee before getting in the car? New device will tell you... trends now
It's a dilemma we've all faced at some point – should you run to the bathroom now, or can you wait?
Now, experts have developed an implant and phone app that could one day remove guesswork from the equation.
Researchers have designed a soft, flexible, battery-free implant that attaches to the wall of the bladder to sense how full it is.
Then, it wirelessly — and simultaneously — transmits data to a smartphone app, so users can monitor their bladder fullness in real time.
The development marks the first example of a bioelectronic sensor that enables continuous monitoring of bladder function for a prolonged period, the researchers said.
The soft, stretchable sensor is the elongated section near the tip of the tweezers. The green box is the implantable ‘base station,’ which holds electrical components to power the device and wirelessly transmit data
The device wirelessly and continuously transmits data to a smartphone app, so users (and their physicians) can monitor bladder filling and function in real time
In small animal studies, the system successfully delivered real-time measurements of bladder filling and emptying for 30 days.
Then, in a study using non-human primates, the system successfully delivered information for eight weeks.
The researchers also demonstrated that the sensors are sensitive enough to detect bladder strain from very low volumes of urine.
Professor Guillermo Ameer, from Northwestern University in Illinois, co-led the work.
