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EasyVoid: A Handheld Coandă Effect Uroflowmeter for Accurate and Portable Measurement of Urinary Flow Dynamics
Ray Chang1, Yu-Chen Chen2,3, Hao-Wei Chen2
1Department of Mechanical EngineeringStanford University Stanford CA 94305 USA.
Summary
A new handheld device, EasyVoid, offers non-invasive urinary flow measurement using the Coandă effect. It accurately quantifies flow rate and volume, aiding remote urinary health monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Urology
- Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) diagnosis relies on subjective methods or invasive tests with limitations.
- Current diagnostic tools for LUTS include questionnaires, conventional uroflowmetry, and urodynamic studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce EasyVoid, a novel handheld device for non-invasive urinary flow measurement.
- To enable quantitative assessment of urinary flow dynamics using the Coandă effect.
Main Methods:
- EasyVoid utilizes the Coandă effect with a passive fluidic mechanism.
- A helical rotor captures angular momentum from the urinary stream to estimate flow rate and volume.
- The device operates without pressure sensors or weighing systems.
Main Results:
- EasyVoid records voiding parameters like flow rate, pattern, time, and volume with high temporal precision.
- Bench-top trials demonstrated strong agreement between EasyVoid measurements and standard uroflowmetry.
- The device accurately measured urinary flow across various flow patterns.
Conclusions:
- EasyVoid shows potential for portable, quantitative urinary flow assessment.
- The device offers a promising solution for remote urinary health monitoring.
- Non-invasive measurement of urinary flow dynamics is achievable with EasyVoid.
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